HOW Interactive Design Award Goes to Ford SmartGauge

Here’s an excerpt from HOW magazine’s write-up about the Ford SmartGauge project:

“With Ford SmartGauge, your car’s dashboard doesn’t just tell you when it’s time to head for the gas station — it actually chimes in on how you’re doing behind the wheel. ”Our whole approach to the instrument cluster was to influence driver behavior,“ says Dan Formosa, a founding member of Smart Design. ”Let’s see if we can save gas.“

To encourage fuel-efficient driving, leaves slowly grow on the LCD display as a reward for good gas mileage. The better your numbers, the more foliage you accumulate over time. ”It’s a digital personal trainer that coaches you in trying to achieve higher fuel economy numbers,“ explains Gary Braddock, lead designer on the project from the Ford team. Or as judge Sean Donohue observes, it’s a ”wonderful example of behavior-changing design.“

The Ford SmartGauge was designed with the Ford Design Team and in conjunction with IDEO.

For more on the HOW Interactive Design Awards for 2010, check out the March/April issue.

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