Reimagining In-Car Digital Services
Project / Strategic Innovation
Duration / 10 Weeks (Currently under NDA)
Client / BMW
Team / 11 multidisciplinary designers across SCADpro
Role / UX Researcher, Strategy Development
Software / Figma
Skills / User Research, Co-Design Workshop Facilitation,
Trend Analysis, Insight Synthesis
BMW partnered with SCADpro to explore emerging mobility opportunities in the U.S. market and identify future in-car experiences that align with evolving driver needs and BMW's existing ecosystem.
Understanding the Future of Driving
To identify emerging opportunities, we explored future mobility trends, evolving consumer behaviors, and competitive innovations. This helped us understand how expectations for luxury driving experiences are shifting beyond vehicle performance toward more personalized and context-aware interactions.
Understanding BMW Drivers
Through interviews, observations, and journey mapping, we explored how BMW drivers navigate their daily routines. The research revealed moments of discovery, convenience, and personalization that could be enhanced without increasing cognitive load while driving.
What We Learned
Drivers Value Discovery During Everyday Journey
Interesting places, stores, and experiences are often encountered while driving but cannot be easily captured in the moment.
Technology Should Reduce Effort, Not Demand Attention
Users preferred seamless support that works in the background rather than introducing additional interactions.
Luxury Is Becoming
More Personalized
Future premium experiences are defined less by status and more by relevance, convenience, and contextual assistance.
Driver Pain Points
I often feel overwhelmed by too many choices in my daily life. When I’m driving, I can't afford the distraction of manual adjustments or searching for destinations on the go.
I seek a driving system where convenience, efficiency, and ease of use meet practicality, granting the freedom to create small moments of value.
Design Opportunity
How might BMW help drivers capture meaningful discoveries during everyday journeys without increasing cognitive load?
Intuitive
Reduce distractions and simplify interactions.
Predictive
Anticipate user needs based on context and behavior.
Exclusive
Deliver personalized experiences tailored to individual lifestyles.
BMW Test Drive Experience
We conducted BMW test drives to better understand real-world driving behaviors and validate user needs within the current luxury experience.
Co-Design Workshop
As the workshop facilitation lead, we collaborated with BMW development teams to evaluate feasibility, budget constraints, and internal priorities of our concepts. Through iterative feedback sessions, we aligned design intent with technical and business realities, bridging concept development with a production-ready direction.
The final concept explored how existing vehicle technologies could support drivers in capturing meaningful discoveries and enhancing everyday journeys without increasing cognitive load.
Reflection
Designing within Mature Systems
BMW's existing ecosystem was already highly refined, requiring us to look beyond obvious problems. By mapping end-to-end user journeys, we identified subtle friction points and uncovered opportunities to enhance everyday driving experiences through small but meaningful improvements.
Balancing User Needs and Business Constraints
With multiple directions being explored simultaneously, defining a clear focus required continuous prioritization. Through research synthesis and collaboration with BMW stakeholders, we learned to balance user needs, technical feasibility, business objectives, and implementation constraints when shaping future opportunities.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Working alongside designers from 11 different disciplines and BMW stakeholders strengthened my ability to facilitate discussions, align diverse perspectives, and translate insights into actionable design directions.
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