CONTEXT FIRST
Use the journey, surrounding environment, and shared situation to make social interaction feel relevant rather than added on.
HUANG
- ROLE
- Interaction Designer · UI/UX
- CLIENT
- BMW Group
- TIME
- June — August 2024
- SCOPE
- Concept · Interaction flows · High-fidelity UI and Prototype
OVERVIEW
An in-car social experience concept for passengers in an L3 autonomous-driving context, exploring how mobility, place, and shared presence might create new ways of being together on the road.
CONFIDENTIALITY
This project was developed during an industry internship and remains subject to confidentiality restrictions. Interface designs, internal research, product strategy, technical documentation, prototypes, and performance outcomes are intentionally omitted. This page shares only a high-level account of my role, process, and transferable design thinking.
How might an autonomous journey become a space for meaningful social presence?
As driving becomes less demanding for passengers, the vehicle can support new forms of attention, entertainment, and connection. The opportunity was not simply to place a social network inside a car, but to rethink social interaction through the specific context of mobility.
The challenge was to balance novelty with calmness, shared experience with personal control, and an ambitious concept with the constraints of an automotive product and a real-time 3D implementation pipeline.
Connection should feel situated, calm, and intentional.
CALM BY DEFAULT
Keep the experience glanceable and passenger-centered, with clear hierarchy and deliberate moments of attention.
DESIGNED TO SHIP
Translate the concept into coherent flows, reusable states, and implementation-ready behavior for a real-time 3D environment.
A collaborative loop between experience, product, and engineering.
FRAME
Clarified the passenger context, design constraints, and the role a social layer could play inside an L3 autonomous journey.
STRUCTURE
Designed the information architecture and interaction flows, connecting entry points, social presence, and shared moments.
PROTOTYPE
Built high-fidelity interactive prototypes to make timing, transitions, and system responses tangible for the wider team.
ITERATE
Refined the experience through product feedback, usability evaluation, and ongoing alignment with technical constraints.
“In mobility nowadays, interaction design can bring attention, context, movement, and the people together to share the journey.”
Systems thinking
Designed flows as part of a larger spatial and technical ecosystem.
Cross-functional craft
Made interaction intent legible across product, design, and engineering.
Responsible storytelling
Designed human-machine interactions and social experiences better suited to autonomous driving.