A fresh take on the Mustang MachE instrument cluster

[ihor]

Although I absolutely adore every inch of my MachE GTPE, I can't help but be irked by the existing instrument cluster design. As a product designer, I couldn't resist taking a crack at redesigning the panel that is always in my sight but…, well, could use some improvement.

What I think is wrong with the current design?

• Information architecture and hierarchy: The most crucial information should be more prominent, but instead, I find a large toy car in square brackets pushing the blue box. Is the fact that the distance to the car ahead is okay really the most important info?
• Inconsistency across driving modes: Switching to Unbridled mode reshuffles everything on the screen. It lacks continuity.
• Empty space issue: I like a clean design, but the panel seems empty most of the time. There must be a way to organize vital information so it's accessible without distracting the driver.
• Random sizes and alignment: Everything appears misaligned, and the randomness in sizes lacks cohesion.
• Aesthetics: This is very subjective, but to me, the design feels outdated like someone unearthed a vintage CD titled "3D Icons set for Photoshop 3.0" from their dad's attic.

Things I considered while redesigning:

• Easy implementation: I aimed for something easily implemented without heavy engineering work. For example, allowing the driver to customize the leftmost area (e.g., someone would prefer seeing display battery consumption analysis instead of the player widget) seemed sensible.
• Consistency in element placement: Not all widgets are always visible, so it can be tempting to move them around to fill empty spaces. However, I kept the elements in their original places to make them easier to find.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or your own gripes on the current design.

P.S. This is my first post here, so please bear with me if this kind of post isn’t welcomed here.

Drive safe!

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[benk016]

This looks really good. And absolutely no reason Ford couldn't do it.

 

[DadzBoyz]

LOVE this.
Today I posted an initial draft of a FordPass redesign that I did.
Don't have Photoshop, so it was a bit flat, but its just a draft at this point.

Love the design. Have you done anything with Infotainment?

 

[DadzBoyz]

One additional view that I'd love to see you do would be a power off charge screen.
That blinker band at the top made me thing of a full width charge progress indicator band.

 

[benk016]

This leaves some good room for adding more tech info on the car too. Such as power and temps.

 

[DevSecOps]

This looks amazing. First actual design that I think I've seen here that doesn't look like a 5th grader attempted it. Of course design is always in the eye of the beholder, but you nailed this one in my eyes!

Ford needs to hire this guy! Also, welcome to the forum!

Please, please take a crack at the center screen. If you think the IPC was from Dad's attic the center screen must be from Grandpa's! They butchered the center screen all to hell in the design refresh.

 

[superdave80]

I'm loving the green. And it was dumb that Ford tied the instrument display options to the drive modes. Let me pick!

 

[ihor]

I'm loving the green. And it was dumb that Ford tied the instrument display options to the drive modes. Let me pick!

Thanks!
I don’t think there are any options. The instrument cluster changes when you switch to Unbridled (and changes the layout, moving the speed gauge to another place ?), and that’s it. You can’t customize it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[DadzBoyz]

Also, on the blinker bar at the top...

Again, love it. But it also solves another problem. I can't tell you how many times I've left my blinker on after changing lanes, etc. The blinker noise isn't loud enough for me, and the little green blinker at the bottom is easily missed.

The big, beautiful blinker bar at the top is more in the driver's line of site, is larger and more prominent.

Ford also needs to add a blinker-on alert for the olds, like me. ?

 

[leehinde]

I like them a lot. I was just wondering last night why having lane keep assist on required a revamp of the instrument cluster.

One small nit; the currently playing song feels like a different thing from the other data being displayed. I'm ok with that not being there.

 

[mdolan92869]

Also, on the blinker bar at the top...

Again, love it. But it also solves another problem. I can't tell you how many times I've left my blinker on after changing lanes, etc. The blinker noise isn't loud enough for me, and the little green blinker at the bottom is easily missed.

The big, beautiful blinker bar at the top is more in the driver's line of site, is larger and more prominent.

Ford also needs to add a blinker-on alert for the olds, like me. ?

And, they need to check the GPS so that if you're an old in Florida, they will automatically turn ON the blinker (random which one) for you

 

[Jimrpa]

Although I absolutely adore every inch of my MachE GTPE, I can't help but be irked by the existing instrument cluster design. As a product designer, I couldn't resist taking a crack at redesigning the panel that is always in my sight but…, well, could use some improvement.

What I think is wrong with the current design?

• Information architecture and hierarchy: The most crucial information should be more prominent, but instead, I find a large toy car in square brackets pushing the blue box. Is the fact that the distance to the car ahead is okay really the most important info?
• Inconsistency across driving modes: Switching to Unbridled mode reshuffles everything on the screen. It lacks continuity.
• Empty space issue: I like a clean design, but the panel seems empty most of the time. There must be a way to organize vital information so it's accessible without distracting the driver.
• Random sizes and alignment: Everything appears misaligned, and the randomness in sizes lacks cohesion.
• Aesthetics: This is very subjective, but to me, the design feels outdated like someone unearthed a vintage CD titled "3D Icons set for Photoshop 3.0" from their dad's attic.

Things I considered while redesigning:

• Easy implementation: I aimed for something easily implemented without heavy engineering work. For example, allowing the driver to customize the leftmost area (e.g., someone would prefer seeing display battery consumption analysis instead of the player widget) seemed sensible.
• Consistency in element placement: Not all widgets are always visible, so it can be tempting to move them around to fill empty spaces. However, I kept the elements in their original places to make them easier to find.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or your own gripes on the current design.

P.S. This is my first post here, so please bear with me if this kind of post isn’t welcomed here.

Drive safe!

I really like your concepts but there are just a couple of things:
* They’re too busy. I think it would be nice of many of those fields are optional.
* I’d keep the “full screen tinted blue when in hands-free”. Remember, you’re supposed to be paying attention to the road. It’s easier to see the blue screen without taking your eyes off the road.

 

[Deleted member 16048]

Let's just hope we get CarPlay 2nd generation.

 

[PA Bob]

Although I absolutely adore every inch of my MachE GTPE, I can't help but be irked by the existing instrument cluster design. As a product designer, I couldn't resist taking a crack at redesigning the panel that is always in my sight but…, well, could use some improvement.

What I think is wrong with the current design?

• Information architecture and hierarchy: The most crucial information should be more prominent, but instead, I find a large toy car in square brackets pushing the blue box. Is the fact that the distance to the car ahead is okay really the most important info?
• Inconsistency across driving modes: Switching to Unbridled mode reshuffles everything on the screen. It lacks continuity.
• Empty space issue: I like a clean design, but the panel seems empty most of the time. There must be a way to organize vital information so it's accessible without distracting the driver.
• Random sizes and alignment: Everything appears misaligned, and the randomness in sizes lacks cohesion.
• Aesthetics: This is very subjective, but to me, the design feels outdated like someone unearthed a vintage CD titled "3D Icons set for Photoshop 3.0" from their dad's attic.

Things I considered while redesigning:

• Easy implementation: I aimed for something easily implemented without heavy engineering work. For example, allowing the driver to customize the leftmost area (e.g., someone would prefer seeing display battery consumption analysis instead of the player widget) seemed sensible.
• Consistency in element placement: Not all widgets are always visible, so it can be tempting to move them around to fill empty spaces. However, I kept the elements in their original places to make them easier to find.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or your own gripes on the current design.

P.S. This is my first post here, so please bear with me if this kind of post isn’t welcomed here.

Drive safe!

I have never liked how different that screen is in each driving mode. I think the base color should be the color of the driving mode (blue for engaged, etc) There are cool red bars that appear on the sides in unbridled. Engaged should have blue wings. Whisper should have teal waves.

This is eccentric, but I wish the turn signal indicator was bigger as well.

 

[DadzBoyz]

And, they need to check the GPS so that if you're an old in Florida, they will automatically turn ON the blinker (random which one) for you

I thought 50 was the new 40, but apparently it’s the new 70?

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