As essential as issues like touchscreens and software program are to the fashionable automotive expertise, we seldom cease to ask why the whole lot appears to be like so ugly.
Your common automobile’s touchscreen and menus doubtless have all of the performance of a Palm Pre, with the aesthetic attraction and inventive worth of a Fort Price outlet mall. Their menus and controls typically really feel haphazardly designed and look totally forgettable. That is true even after greater than a decade of in-car display screen dominance and a future we’re always informed is centered round over-the-air updates and smartphone-like tech options.
So when Rivian got down to utterly overhaul its in-car software program expertise, its designers declared that issues don’t should be this manner.
The electrical startup’s newest infotainment setup options cel-shaded depictions of its vans and SUVs, offset by animated depictions of various landscapes, vivid colours, pace traces such as you’d discover in a Japanese manga comedian and tons of “Easter eggs” within the backgrounds. New updates even give the software program “costumes” impressed by traditional TV reveals and flicks like Again to the Future and Knight Rider.
After I requested Rivian’s Chief Design Officer Jeff Hammoud why his staff went this route, one phrase got here up time and again: “Optimism.”
“We felt it was a chance to have just a little little bit of enjoyable and create a character across the automobile,” Hammoud stated in a latest interview. Greater than that, he stated, the brand new software program interfaces mirror a philosophy inside Rivian. “We wish all of it to look inviting,” Hammoud stated. “Our automobiles have a pleasant look and that’s a part of our model… that optimism round what we’re making an attempt to do by way of electrification and defending the world for our children.”
Picture by: InsideEVs
2025 Rivian R1S and R1T Graphics
Rivian’s new interface language went dwell this summer season on the closely up to date 2025 R1S and R1T fashions and through software program updates to earlier automobiles. They offer homeowners an animated illustration of their automobile that spins and transforms as they modify issues like journey top settings and the assorted driving modes.
On one other automobile, switching to sport mode would possibly imply a brand new set of gauges on the central show or shifting the menus to a crimson shade scheme. However on an R1S or R1T, a cartoon depiction of the automobile zooms onto what appears to be like like a race monitor as its glowing taillights fade right into a red-and-white background. As an alternative of pop-ups to substantiate you’re in “Snow Mode” or some off-road setting, Rivian gives a shift to a captivating winter panorama or the automobile perched atop a rocky mountain. Clouds, windmills and birds transfer about within the backgrounds and all of those visuals tackle a distinct character at night time as nicely.
Picture by: InsideEVs
2025 Rivian R1S and R1T Graphics
None of that is very important for a automobile to perform correctly, in fact, and it’s extremely unlikely that these animated graphics can be a make-or-break promoting level. However they add a ton of one thing intangible—character—to Rivian’s automobiles, they usually flip one thing that was an afterthought at greatest into one thing you truly stay up for utilizing. And Hammoud stated {that a} ton of effort went into devising how this ecosystem ought to appear and feel.
“We used this concept of manga-style [or] Studio Ghibli movies, these actually optimistic motion pictures the place you are feeling such as you’re in one other world, and actually taking that into a method the place we might create the totally different worlds of the drive modes,” Hammoud stated. He’s in fact referring to the famed Japanese animated classics from Hayao Miyazaki and different creators like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Supply Service and, most just lately, The Boy and the Heron. All of these are landmark animated movies launched to worldwide acclaim. However Hammoud stated in addition they share the final vibe Rivian goes for lately.
Picture by: InsideEVs
2025 Rivian R1S and R1T Graphics
“You have a look at one thing like Akira, versus Studio Ghibli,” he stated, referring to the Nineteen Eighties comedian and landmark animated movie a few dystopian future. The latter is “just a little bit extra optimistic and on the pleasant facet of that. We need to talk energy and dynamism with the automobile, however we nonetheless wished to have this kind of, ‘sitting down Sunday morning watching cartoons together with your children’ vibe with it as nicely.”
That stands in stark distinction with one other eye-catching electrical automobile designed that has a distinctly apocalyptic power: arduous angles, allegedly bulletproof stainless-steel, a “Bioweapon Protection Mode.” Whereas Hammoud didn’t point out it by title, he made clear that he, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and their design groups didn’t share the identical philosophy.
Picture by: InsideEVs
2025 Rivian R1S and R1T Graphics
“If you have a look at vans, their faces are very aggressive, very indignant, just like the entrance ends might eat young children,” Hammoud stated. “Purposely, we’re like, ‘All proper, nicely, we do not want a giant grill.’ We wish it to look inviting. Take a look at our headlight shapes. Our automobiles have a pleasant look.”
A lot of this was afforded by the ability of the Unreal Engine, a 3D graphics software program system made well-known in video video games that’s now making its approach to the automotive world. This allowed Rivian’s artists and designers to “scale” all these new pictures simply with out having to attract every one individually.
“It was actually necessary to us that no matter automobile you’ve, it’s the precise set of wheels and it is the precise shade [on the screen], in order that means we’re taking a look at is definitely consultant of your automobile,” Hammoud stated. “If we needed to create, which is what we did previously, a picture for each single [Rivian color or option], that’s hundreds and hundreds of pictures.”
With the Unreal Engine, Hammoud stated, “You set within the specs of the automobile, like if it is a Forest Inexperienced automobile with 22s, you simply put that into the code, and growth, it is rendered and it updates.”
Picture by: InsideEVs
2025 Rivian R1S and R1T Graphics
Rivian isn’t alone in making an attempt so as to add a extra distinctive look and character to its software program expertise in addition to its exterior designs. Mini just lately added a cartoon canine to its infotainment programs as an AI-powered digital assistant, and several other Chinese language automakers are taking comparable approaches. And as with these automobiles, Rivian’s strategy goes past mere visuals; these capabilities characterize new methods for drivers to work together with their automobiles and management their options within the software-driven automobile period.
So does it work? Primarily based on a latest check of a 2025 Rivian R1S, I believe the reply is generally sure. It’s pretty simple to search out the capabilities you need and the large, vivid shows characterize novel methods of presenting data to the motive force. That’s essential since Rivian famously—or maybe infamously—eschews most bodily buttons and Apple CarPlay in its EVs. It additionally goals to do extra with voice controls, though it has a methods to go there to match many opponents.
However this strategy to software program does present what Rivian’s made from, and why a conventional conglomerate just like the Volkswagen Group sees such worth in what the corporate does. That 2025 R1S bought higher whereas I had it, receiving an over-the-air software program replace that improved the power and effectivity gauges (and put them consistent with the remainder of the automobile’s new inventive language) whereas correcting some points with the stereo and including the Halloween-themed visuals.
And till Rivian can get the upcoming R2, R3 and R3X fashions on the highway, it’s bought extra in retailer for its present automobiles each by way of software program updates and extra tweaks—although Hammoud was cagey about what precisely is coming subsequent.
“We now have some new updates which can be coming subsequent 12 months on R1 that I am excited to share, some particular editions,” Hammoud stated. “I will go away it at that.”
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