I’m seeing quite a bit of media backlash against tech in the early going of 2023. Ollie Kew is adding his opinion to this growing narrative which has also been mentioned here on the Core platform. Many of the projects I’m looking at this quarter have drastically reduced reliance on leading tech UX/UI as evidenced by tech layoffs.
Is it a backlash against tech, or just a return to common sense?
I don’t think of the yoke steering wheel as tech. Knight Rider had one in the 80s
My parent’s TV from 1985 had capcitive buttons for all 13 channels (only 13 channels back then)… it was not a great idea then either BTW since I, at 9 years old, was effectively the “remote control” and I would easily hit the wrong button requested by my parents 
I think this of this as less “tech” and more silly chasing sci-fi stuff from the past and not thinking about how people actually use these things and that cars are massive machines that need to be easily controlled.
But semantics aside, I agree with the article 
2 Likes
also, to back up that article @designbreathing
I don’t quite understand the desire for cameras replacing side mirrors. I get the slight aero improvement, but it seems like a lot of tech when a piece of mirrored glass works great…
I think it is a psychological conditioning thing for the up and coming next generation. Yet we are in a transitional period of adjustment for sure.
I now trust my rear backup camera more than my side mirrors due to the cognitive dissonance created by “objects in the mirror may appear larger”. I still have not adjusted to the BLIS on my ICE Volvo nor do I trust it either due to designers thinking drivers can combine both mirror and warning light information at speed with a 18 wheeler barreling down on you from the fast lane.
1 Like
One of my big design focuses is figuring out how much digital processing can be moved to a physical form. I think this is an exciting time because technology is finally catching up to my imagination as a youth and can be thought of in a timeless fashion. The technology is already small enough designers just need to fill in the gaps of usability.
Mirrors are much better(simpler, multi-millennial old tech beats “modern tech” in my aesthetic.) than cameras and don’t even preclude cameras. The cameras should be there as a redundancy to the mirror.
I can’t believe how fast I learned to use my back-up camera I’m even starting to notice the subtleties of the warning chimes and the sychronization to the images “guidance lines”. I love that a lot but would not give it up until my video mirrors are always on and completely indistinguishably from a an actual mirror, excepting the graphic overlays, night vision, and magnification.
2 Likes
As someone who used to fancy himself a proficient mirror-using/twisting-around-and-looking-backwards reverse driver, I couldn’t believe not only how quickly I became complete fine with using a rear view camera 99% of the time but also how quickly I became uncomfortable backing up in my partner’s car the old fashioned way. Not an endorsement or indictment of either method, just a curious observation (though I will say I’m glad backup cameras have largely put an end to the “good ol’ days” of people accidentally backing up over small children and pets)
2 Likes
An optional Joystick or Flighstick to the side would be cool.
Like in the good old F16 cockpit.