OPINION “
There is more of a culture of
customisation within automotive,
but what do you expect when there
is no Boeing or Airbus?”
The differences between
the automotive and
aviation interiors sectors
are often misunderstood.
Having worked in both,
I see five misconceptions
that should be adjusted
for reality.
1. AUTOMOTIVE IS VERY GOOD
AT INNOVATION. In many ways this
is true. The modern car is a marvel, with
powertrains so efficient they are hard to
believe. Legislation has driven a lot of
this environmental innovation – imagine
if aviation legislators put additional
charges on every airline ticket sold if the
plane seat was over a given weight –
then we’d see more focused innovation
by airlines, vendors and designers.
Within automotive interiors a vast
number of competing companies have
huge budgets for development. Despite
this investment, pound for pound, the
rate of innovation is proportionally
low, with genuine innovations only
occasionally making it through to
production, which then proliferate
through competitors fairly quickly.
2. THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
CARRIES OUT LOTS OF DESIGN
RESEARCH. I’m talking about design
research that is genuinely future-facing,
projecting into the unknown rather
than just asking current customers
and verifying iterative improvements.
Unfortunately, similarly to aviation, it’s
far rarer in automotive than it should be.
3. AUTO MANUFACTURERS
MAKE THEIR CARS… AND
THEREFORE HAVE GREATER
CONTROL OVER THE SUPPLY
CHAIN , ENABLING LOTS OF
‘BLUE SKY’ PRODUCTS. The OEMs
assemble cars, with sub-suppliers
providing large chunks of them. For
example, almost all automotive seats
are manufactured by one of five vendors.
Some of these vendors are owned or
part owned by other car makers, so their
independence is questionable. These
manufacturers are very busy, and it is
therefore difficult and expensive for them
to develop anything other than a small
evolutionary step. Sound familiar?
4. AUTOMOTIVE HAS
A STRONGER CULTURE
OF CUSTOMISATION.
It is undeniable that there
is more of a culture of
customisation within
automotive, but then what
do you expect when there
is no Airbus or Boeing to
encourage standardisation?
About John
John Tighe is an expert user experience (UX) and innovation
design consultant, whose experience comes from design
consultancy in aviation and automotive, as well as
working for most of the value chain, including airlines,
aircraft interior manufacturers, and automotive OEMs.
John Tighe
Another key driver for high visual
customisation is the automotive world’s
culture of selling on product, whereas
airlines… Well, I challenge you to pick 10
airline websites and within two minutes
find details of the onboard product you’d
be purchasing a ticket to travel on. Now
try the same with car manufacturers…
Sadly the majority of customisation
is skin deep and lacks substance and
genuine benefits.
5. AUTOMOTIVE HAS A LONGER
DEVELOPMENT PERIOD, WHICH
AIDS INNOVATION. The auto industry
does have longer development times,
but due to its significantly more complex
industrialisation processes, any
innovations have to be in place very
early in that process. In reality, they
really have to be developed outside of
live projects, which, as with most
industries, makes true innovation
harder to fund.
The standard of automotive
products is high, and they
can be outstanding objects.
However, judged as user
experiences, many of
them are frankly pretty
awful. But I’d need this
whole magazine to cover
that topic, and maybe
a few beers!
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