Interpretation of Cadillac CUE system design concept

    Five years ago, Cadillac designers and engineers began to design a new human-computer interaction system - Cadillac CUE system. Today, CUE system has become a major feature of the brand with its excellent functionality and design.

    “There are so many details that are taken into account (in today’s CUE systems), such as graphics, size, fonts, color schemes and layouts,” said Jason Diehl, CUE system design manager.

Personalization

    Although the physical buttons in the CUE system are fixed, the display can be personalized in a variety of ways. The CUE system uses an 8-inch capacitive touch screen, and users can personalize the main menu and customize the layout of the icons according to their preferences.

    Users can drag and drop the key applications in the main menu to the top row, and the next time users need to enter these applications, they don’t need to turn the page. At the bottom of the screen are functional applications such as navigation, phone book, and FM. Of course, users can also "lift" the icons by dragging them (similar to the iPhone interface), and more applications will be displayed on the screen. These application icons can be hidden by dragging in the opposite way.

    The three information dashboards behind the steering wheel are arranged in a left, center and right view. Users can set the speed limit, average fuel consumption, timer and media playback information to be displayed in a loop in these expandable areas. There is a 5-way control button on the right side of the steering wheel. By rotating the button, the driver can adjust the layout of the information display.

    There is also a chrome strip installed under the CUE system screen, through which the storage space hidden behind the screen can be opened.

Consumer behavior research

    During the design process of the CUE system, designers observed people's daily driving habits. Five years ago, the system research team conducted a lot of tests and even invited many customers to participate in order to optimize the design.

    “在司机驾车时，设计者就坐在后排座位对司机的行为进行观察，有时候一次调研过程达到2小时”，Diehl表示：“这么做为了观察司机使用广播、电子设备以及他们利用车载系统与他人进行交互的行为习惯。”他认为，光靠询问用户操作系统的习惯远远不够，因为用户下意识的动作甚至自己都不会意识到，因此，当场观察他们的行为动作非常重要。

    In addition to extensive brand, market and competitive research, this field research helped Cadillac designers gain inspiration on where to make improvements, which is important for the next stage of development.

    While observing the driver's behavior, the designers in the back row will record the driver's behavior characteristics. It is said that the user habit characteristics information they collected can be pasted on the walls of the entire conference room. The designers optimize the system based on this information. So far, the CUE system designers have collected more than 2,500 driver behavior characteristics.

    “We grouped different behavioral characteristics into categories so that it was easier to ‘digest’ the information,” Diehl said. “From there, the HCI system engineers worked with the graphic design team on system functionality, wireframe structure and flow to deliver the best results for the client.”

Appearance

    To reflect Cadillac's brand art and technology concept, the CUE system's appearance uses sharp metallic icons with bright blue glow colors. In addition, the various parts of the system use gold, red, blue and other colors to echo the Cadillac brand icon. Among them, the time and temperature information display areas in the upper left and upper right corners of the screen use gold text; the checkboxes are red. The blue glow color fully penetrates the overall color of the center console and instrument panel.

    The CUE system uses the highest resolution possible, aiming to give customers a full-color look and feel that reflects the brand. "We also spent a lot of time creating system icons, so that when the icons pop up in the menu interface, users can feel the cohesive design," said Diehl.

    The size of the text and icons on the screen is also a science, so that customers can easily see the content on the screen while driving. Since the main menu is presented in the form of an "application tray", the designer needs to design each icon in 2D and 3D visuals.

    In some Cadillac high-end models, the CUE system screen has even expanded to 12.3 inches. Depending on the user's preferences, the instrument can achieve four different display modes:

    Balanced mode: This is the most common display mode, using a 3-dashboard layout, which is the factory default layout.

    Simple mode: Use digital display to express necessary information with the least amount of information.

    Enhanced mode: This mode uses a more modern display method, with a large digital speedometer in the center of the instrument panel. In addition, a large amount of information will be marked in various corresponding positions on the instrument panel in this mode.

    Performance Mode: A sporty display mode with a 3D rotating view of the vehicle.