Loris
Olivier
CV

Nissan Box

My role in the project

2014_2024
product-design
product-design
user-research
motion-design

Summary

Nissan Box is an app for drivers of Nissan's thermal and electric vehicles. I worked on it between Tokyo and Paris, from user research to product design.

Key figures

+12%Users

My work with the ACMS teams on two new Nissan applications contributed to this increase.

3 monthsOf research

Research, analysis and user interviews before and during design.

My role & context
Role

Product design and user research.

  • Product design
  • User research
  • Motion design
Where

Tokyo and Paris, with the ACMS teams.

Methods
  • User interviews
  • Prototype sessions
  • Screen tests
  • Heatmaps

01

The stakes

Thermal and electric vehicles, different models, one application.

The brief

Nissan Box serves drivers of both thermal and electric Nissan vehicles. A single application had to adapt to very different models and needs, from checking a car's status to controlling it remotely.

Electric vehicle status screen over a mood board
_05

Art direction: an electric-vehicle status screen (charging time, range, battery) and its mood board.

One app, two kinds of vehicles
Three dashboard explorations side by side: an electric car showing battery charge and a start-charging action, a thermal car showing fuel level and a start-engine action, and a list layout of battery, climate and vehicle status.
Early explorations: the same dashboard for an electric car (charge, start charging) and a thermal one (fuel level, start engine).
Map of the thermal-car app connected through a dongle: dashboard, vehicle health, driving history and fuel, virtual garage and menu, in four levels, with open questions marked.
The thermal (ICE) version, connected through a dongle: its map, four levels deep, with open questions marked.

02

Research

Three months with drivers before designing.

How we learned

3 mo.Research & analysis

Three months of research and analysis.

254User interviews

Interviews with drivers.

5Prototypes

Prototypes built to engage users in the conversation.

56Screen tests

Testing and studying screens, including attention heatmaps on the dashboard.

Research in numbers

254Drivers interviewed

78 in the US, 127 in Japan and 49 in France.

56Test sessions

32 in France and 24 in Japan, with prototypes and scenario-driven interviews.

4Markets targeted

The US, Canada, Europe and Japan.

Research method
Research method in six stages: 254 driver interviews (127 Japan, 78 US, 49 France), a synthesis kept under NDA, 56 prototype sessions (32 France, 24 Japan), screen tests with attention heatmaps, four design rules, and validation where 76% of drivers completed all 6 tasks.
The research method, from interviews to validation. The synthesis and journey maps stay under NDA.
Assumption mapping
Whiteboard with sticky notes grouped under themes: Settings, Help and support, Holistic experience, Notifications, Dashboard and Remote.
Assumptions about drivers, grouped by theme: remote, dashboard, notifications, settings, support.
The same sticky notes placed on a matrix from low to high risk and from known to unknown, most of them clustered in the high-risk, unknown corner.
Then placed by risk and by how much we knew, to decide what the prototypes had to test.
Whiteboard sketch of a funnel from common needs to features to prototype, next to a test plan in three layers: user needs, behaviour and usability.
The funnel from common needs to features to prototype, tested in three layers: needs, behaviour, usability.
Five prototypes
User-test plan: prototype 1 tests overall usability with about 120 screens; prototypes 2 to 5, about 14 screens each, test the widget manager, a simpler structure, one-tap remotes and clustered remotes on the dashboard.
The user-test plan: one full prototype for overall usability, four short ones that each change one part of the structure.
Research artifacts
The first wireframes with 16 numbered elements on the dashboard, next to a menu and a settings screen, with unclear paths flagged in red: Notifications? Settings? Where does it lead?
Review of the first wireframes: 16 elements on one screen, and the unclear paths flagged in red.
Attention heatmap over an early dashboard, with the car status, battery and remote actions drawing the most attention, next to the screen variants that were tested.
Attention heatmap on an early dashboard, next to the variants we tested.

03

Design decisions

A few clear rules, so one app could fit many cars.

Information architecture
App map in five levels: splash screen and onboarding, the dashboard, then My Car, virtual garage, profile, assistance, navigation and You+Nissan, down to settings, notifications and trip history.
The app map, five levels deep: from the dashboard to My Car, garage, profile, assistance and navigation.
Five directions
Five dashboard directions side by side: status rings, list cards, a lighter list, a map view and a sectioned grid with actions on the right.
Five directions for the dashboard: status rings, list cards, a map view and a sectioned grid.
Iteration 02
Three dashboard layouts showing the same charge, range, temperature and lock status around the car, with the remote buttons below.
Three layouts for the same data around the car.
Themes and states
The same dashboard in dark, light and brand red themes.
Each layout explored in dark, light and brand red.
Two states of the dashboard: a damage alert card in the header with a call button, and a green banner confirming the car was unlocked.
A damage alert takes the header; a command confirms in place.
Layout principles
Superposition

Only one superposition per screen: highlighted content on top, dynamic content below.

Header

Superposed and graphically prominent; identifies the car.

Remotes

Always accessible, with a clear tap affordance.

Widgets

Built for longer reading and accessibility, square themes, and quick thematic identification.

Superposition principles and screen structure
Superposition principles and screen structure.
The final app
Final Nissan LEAF dashboard: a red header with the car, a battery bar at 75%, remote actions (lock, charge, climate, light and horn), and widgets for battery, vehicle health, temperature, monitoring and driving history.
The final dashboard: header, remotes always within reach, and widgets.

Usability

76%Task success

Of drivers completed all 6 tasks in tests.

No store rating: the app was withdrawn when the digital services were split between regions.

04

Outcome

More drivers on the apps.

Who it helped
Drivers

Thermal and electric drivers each see what matters to them in one app, shaped with 254 drivers in three countries: 76% completed all 6 test tasks.

Nissan

More drivers on its apps: a 12% increase in users, a team result with the ACMS teams.

+12%Users

My work with the ACMS teams on two new Nissan applications contributed to a 12% increase in users.

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