The Shift

Challenge: Balancing Company and Consumer Needs

Roadlec Telematics aimed to develop their first product with as many multifunctional features as possible to showcase their technical capabilities. However, before diving into feature integration, they needed to understand what their target consumers actually wanted from a multifunctional car navigation system—not only to meet practical expectations but also to create a product that resonates emotionally, making it more than just an ordinary navigation device.

The company’s marketing team identified their target consumer group as individuals in their late twenties to late thirties, based on business strategy and market trend research.

To better understand consumer needs, the design team conducted interviews with approximately 40 men and women within this demographic. The goal was to identify the key functionalities users desired in a car navigation system. From these interviews, the primary features that the target users wanted were:

• DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting)

• Digital media playback (both video and music)

• A viewport-changeable touchscreen

• A built-in camera

The Goal: Multi-usable, not multi-functional

Fundamentally, the target consumers wanted to use their car navigation device as a digital media player when it was not being used in the car. For them, “multi-functionality” did not simply mean having multiple features; it meant “multi-usability” — seamless functionality across different use cases. The four primary functions identified by target users were considered essential to fulfilling that expectation.

Design development proceeded with a focus on achieving both usability and an aesthetic shift accommodating both the digital media player and car navigation.

“Shift” for Different Purposes

“The Shift” is designed with a concise and minimal overall appearance, providing well-balanced aesthetics suitable for various usage environments—as both an in-hand multimedia player and an in-car navigation system.

Its simple rectangular form with asymmetric corner radii offers a comfortable grip in both portrait and landscape orientations. A slight curvature on the left and right edges (in portrait mode) further enhances grip comfort.

Main control buttons are intuitively grouped together and placed adjacent to the screen (or at the bottom, depending on the screen orientation) for easy access and single-finger control. This layout ensures intuitive usability during both in-car and in-hand operation, regardless of portrait or landscape mode.

A front-facing speaker delivers clear voice guidance when used as a car navigation system and offers high-quality sound when functioning as a portable media player.

“The Shift” is designed to achieve a well-balanced harmony between in-car and in-hand usability and aesthetics. You can effortlessly adapt it for different purposes and environments according to your needs—and “The Shift” delivers an ideal experience for what you need.