Problem Statement
Current Voice Assistant failed to assist drivers.
The voice assistant is the most disliked feature by users based on customer survey analysis. It struggles to understand human language, has a high error rate, and often responds inappropriately. This not only frustrates users but also poses a significant driving safety risk.
Future vision of building an ecosystem for Lynkie
Reflect: Challenges & Insights
My key contributions in the team
- Market benchmarking
- Product and UX design (figma)
- Prototyping with AI api (unreal engine)
- User testing and data analysis
- Stakeholder communication
- Cross-department collaboration
- Product roadmap management, project management
Insight 1
One of the key purposes of this design was to enhance Lynk & Co's brand identity and help it stand out in a competitive market. However, accurately predicting brand impact through user testing can be challenging.
In our survey, we presented four character designs, each receiving approximately 25% of the votes—no single design emerged as a clear favorite. In such cases, as a brand, it's important not to rely solely on data but to make informed, subjective decisions based on a deep understanding of the brand's personality.
User Experience (UX) design is a discipline that combines experimentation and creativity. While data and user feedback are invaluable, they shouldn't be the sole determinants of design decisions.
A designer's intuition and judgment are crucial for creating distinctive and impactful products. Understanding data—and knowing when not to fully cater to it or to user preferences—is sometimes the highest level of design ability. It's about anticipating market trends and user needs beyond what's immediately apparent, which can set a brand apart in the industry.
Insight 2
For this design task, the feedback we received from stakeholders was that they didn’t care much about the VA's appearance but had concerns about its robotic look, fearing it might seem too complicated. Their primary focus was how the 3D VA integrates into the 3D HMI scene, ensuring the functionality is intuitive, non-distracting, and safe. Despite these doubts, we insisted on keeping the character as part of our vision.
Direct conversations with leadership helped clarify their expectations and direction. However, a leader’s perspective doesn’t always align with the best solution for the brand. As designers, we must determine when to follow leadership's input and when to push back for more innovative design solutions. Striking this balance is essential for creating a groundbreaking product and remains one of the toughest challenges in the design process.
