New interactions as you travel…

Love to travel, and love to gaze at all the wonderful imagery that happens outside the car… and to be able to interact with it? Ooh, would love to!

This is a concept still and there’s only a working prototype, but a great one at that.  Developed by Toyota, in collaboration Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, Toyota’s concept cars feature ‘Windows to the World’ that allows interactivity when one is sitting at the back.

This is a window with several touchscreen functionality. It can be used to obtain information about objects outside, such as the distance of a house, or to entertain children with games, design software, digital zoom and so on. Besides giving children the ability to draw on the windows using only their fingers, Windows to the World could also include a pinch-and-zoom feature to enlarge far-away objects, show the distance between the car and various objects, and display the names of things zooming by the window in the tongue of the local residents. They even have plans for the sunroof, saying it could be used to display virtual constellations, complete with detailed information about the stars.

 

 

 

 

Drawing in motion allows passengers to use their fingers to “draw” on the rear windows. The image traced by your fingers then will move along the window as the image is moving away from the car.

Zooming into captured moments in time allows you to  pinch and zoom-in on outside objects. It’s like zooming-in an image on your iPhone or Android.

Translating the world in a local language gives users the ability to designate names of objects outside the window to be translated into the local language.

Augmented distances will allow the curious-minded to display the distance from the window to an object outside.

Virtual constellations utilize the vehicle’s panoramic roof to display virtual constellations and display information about them.

Watch the video:

 

 

And yet another interesting concept.

The next time you go to buy a Cadillac, you may get a chance to experience the new interactive window sticker created by Fusion92.

Using a new touch-sensitive translucent film technology, the design and development team of Fusion92  built a working prototype of an interactive window sticker. At first glance, it looks like any ordinary window sticker displaying price, features, fuel economy and such, but when a customer walks by the car the window comes to life, making the glass a fully interactive touch-screen kiosk. Users can customize all the features of the car, see the updated price, calculate loan payments, watch videos, share the car on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for more information.

Love this exciting phase of digital technology and interaction media that allows us to connect differently and experience another side of the experience.

So next time, you may want to leave the driving to someone else.

The new rupee

The 2 Rupee coin

The latest coins issued by the Government of India have the new symbol of the Rupee.  Overall, I do think the composition of the entire graphic face of the coin is rather uncluttered, simple and pretty effective. The design also showcases the national flower of India- the lotus.

And the new symbol is clear for all to see, thereby popularising it for sure.

Most of the times, we as humans prefer the visual experience. A successful design stems from this basis that ‘form does follow function but is appealing too by its own merit’. Good graphics communicate far more than words can ever, especially if one wants to reach out to a larger and inclusive audience.

The new rupee coin is a good example of this thought process- only where the graphics are concerned on the coin.

Sometimes though, the form also ensures or indicates the function. And good design means looking at the entire picture and then finding solutions. Here the new range of coins has failed. The size of the coin has been made a size smaller… the new 2 rupees coin is of the size the earlier 1 rupee coin was, which in turn looks like the earlier 50p coin.

Not just confusing, but this is a visual disadvantage that has been created. People are used to a certain size now, and associate that size with the amount of money given out.  And chances are that people are going to miss some more money than intended. Which is not a small or trivial issue for those who have to literally save for a tomorrow.

I feel the new coins should have remained the same size as the earlier ones or should have got a different colour- like the gold and steel finish that the 10rupees coins have been given. Then the size would not have been such an issue, as people would easily bracket these coins in the ‘new’ segment and also remain aware of the size.

Size does matter and how… more importantly, design matters.

Older version of the 10 rupee coin

10 rupee coin with new symbol