Project Description
The iconic Ford GT, reimagined
The Le Mans winning supercar, with HMI by Conjure
Tasked with developing a next generation, Le Mans winning supercar, the Ford Performance team approached Conjure to design and develop the Interior HMI.
Kept even from the majority of Ford itself, we worked in secrecy with a small team to deliver to deliver the interface for the show stopping Ford GT.
- We delivered four complete driving modes with minimal boot time
- Visual design blended 2D & 3D for a truly distinct look
- Voted Top Gear’s Track Car of the Year
- The Ford GT won its category at Le Mans
What does the HMI for Fords first supercar in 50 years look like?
Objectives
- Outline a complete UX and input model for the HMI
- Incorporate an Information on Demand (IoD) system for rapid data switching
- Capture a military feel to the thematic design of the UI
- Work directly with the Tier 1 for HMI asset integration
Challenge
The Ford GT programme was aimed at both road and track, so we had to design a cluster that was functional for both amateur drivers and seasoned racers. With a goal to win Le Mans, timings were also tight, giving us just 18 months to design and develop the complete system.
Combined with the central cluster, Conjure was also tasked with re-skinning the Sync Gen 3 IVI unit. The extreme secrecy of the project meant that we couldn’t work with the wider for team on the IVI, and so instead would have to find another solution to creating the 35,000 individual assets in Sync Gen 3.
Our Approach
With four key stakeholders; Conjure, Ford, Multimatic and the Tier 1 all involved we quickly created a programme plan that would allow for rapid input and sign-off at each stage of Discovery, Design and Development.
The scope of the driving modes meant we would be pushing the limit of the HMI hardware, and so BUC testing started at the earliest opportunity, allowing us to highlight potential issues with boot time, frame rate and memory overhead well ahead of time.
Conjure assembled a team consisting of UX, UI, Motion Graphics and 3D Development specialists in order to deliver the HMI. Stateside workshops lead by our Design Director laid the groundwork for the UK team to undertake rapid UX prototyping, with the 3D developers working closely with the Tier 1 to lay the foundations of the CGI Studio asset.
A dedicated programme manager oversaw all facets of the three phases, ensuring tight feedback loops were adhered to throughout.
Four key driving modes underpinned the core UX of the cluster; Normal, Wet, Track and Velocity. Each mode featured a collapsing tachometer that would shrink to allow for on demand information panels to be called up via input from the wheel. These covered data such as key vehicle temperatures, TPMS and lap deltas. This innovative IoD solution allowed us to bridge the gap between the road and track driver.
Thematic direction for the UI was drawn from extensive research into military and aviation interfaces, ultimately resulting in a focused, exciting theme that prioritized stark contrast to aid in rapid data reading.
In order to facilitate the rapid re-skin of Sync Gen 3 we created a series of scripts to automate individual visual asset creation, accelerating the production of tens of thousands of images and icons.
The team’s creativity, attention to detail and understanding of our brand have put the GT at the forefront of the Supercar HMI game
