With respect to ergonomics, automotive design is very successful. Car companies build a car based on emphasizing such ergonomics. Car engineers design cars based on safety, comfort, its ease of use, performance, and aesthetics. While car design is created through ergonomics, it is how well car companies perform this task (in design specifics), which makes them the best.
Design is a goal-directed problem solving activity specifically for the automotive design. It is an interplay between what the company wants to achieve and how they want to satisfy potential drivers. So they convert customer needs’ and requirements of us, the customers, and gear the way they design our automotives to fit our life, and hierarchy of needs.
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For safety, cars are designed with proper seat belts on every seat, and airbags for emergencies. Even the body of the car is geared towards safety, and the heavier the car’s interior, the ultimately safer if an accident were to occur.
They also make the interior of a car for comfort. From leather seats, and cushioned headboards, to comfy elbow rests, cars are very comfort-minded when designed for success.
(top 50 luxury car interiors)
Many companies focus on ease of use. How easy is it to steer the car, add gas in the tank, merge lanes, steer, see in your rearview mirror, drive smoothly, put keys into the ignition etc. All of these regard to how easy the car is to use, and if all answered yes, the car scores high in this element of ergonomic design.
Performance wise, is the car a reliable transportation you can count on to not die in the middle of the freeway? Engineers focus heavily on making sure their auto design will perform properly and accurately.
In the aspects of designing a car, there are many steps involved. There entails occupant packaging (where the car’s body in standardized position is measured). Then engineers will use computer-aided design of a car to simulate driver behavior and measure vital design components such as reach, visibility, comfort, posture, biomechanics, and strength. This test enables the designers to make driver oriented decisions about cockpit design within the car. Then comes visual aspects in vehicle design, automotive seat design for sitting comfort, physical aspects of the car design, design of symbols for automotive control and displays, and informational aspects of vehicle design.
Image from coolgadgetconcept.com
And what would a car be without its fancy, top of the line, visual aspect to drivers. The aesthetics have become a driving force in our society as the “look” of a car is emphasized in today’s car obsessed world. And the designers know that so they focus on the visual aspects to make you like it. These include not just the colors and shiny windows, but also the air bag warning signs, comfort, usability, seat belts, the collision avoidance system, traction, brakes, navigation systems, GPS, the vehicle interior, pedals, controls, etc. Although many would see these aesthetics as unnoticed parts of automotive design, these are actually part of a car’s aesthetic design despite if you knew it or not.
Another perception of the design process is the variety and type. The elements of safety, comfort, ease, performance, and aesthetics are also connected to the context they are driven in. What type of environment is the car being used? So designers have altered the elements for different terrains, including Sport Cars, family and personal business sedans, and the minivan and off-road vehicles.
All in all, what the “car” used to be was transportation, a vehicle for humans to get from one place to another not really focusing on the ergonomic design elements. And now, elements like GPS have improved auto design from what used to be interfering with taking one’s eyes off the road, to what now is a voice saving you time and telling you how to get somewhere. With the rise in technology and the competitive industry of the automobile having grasped the importance of ergonomic design, it is this core principal of designing that makes some of the best companies today, the easiest to use, most reliable, safest etc. Thank you ergonomic automotive designers of today, you have created the car to be a more comfortable, easier to use, better performer, better looking, and safer object!
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