Why car designers are not listening to academic research on interior design

Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Automotive Design & In-Cabin Expo North America, Novi, Michigan. “Why car designers are not listening to academic research when it comes to interior design.” James Rampton, Lecturer III, UX Design and Automotive UX, University of Michigan School of Information.

I caught James Rampton's session in Novi on Tuesday, where he looked at the gap between academic research and what OEMs need by walking through what automakers have put into their cabins since August 2025.

GM's speed comes to software and design

Citing IEEE Spectrum, James described tools GM chief product officer Sterling Anderson is building to show the effect of a structural engineering decision in a minute or less, down from 15 hours or more, and GM is applying the same approach to software and design to keep pace with Chinese carmakers.

Shorter programs, costlier HMI recalls

Shorter programs leave less time for validation, and James pointed out that recalls tied to HMI design are getting more expensive. He cited an Upstream report estimating that connected vehicle data could have caught 70% of US recalls earlier, and he was upfront that the report is biased.

Physical controls are back

Ferrari's first EV, the Luce, has drawn attention for the physical controls that LoveFrom, the studio Jony Ive cofounded, designed for its center display and steering wheel. Rivian kept hard controls to a minimum in the R2, and James sees the row of physical switches under the Scout Traveler's screen, together with its extended range electric powertrain, as what's drawing customers to Scout.

Type as a safety decision

Having worked in branding and graphic design for over 25 years, I was glad to see Volvo treat type as a safety decision. Its new typeface, Centum, debuts in the model year 2027 EX60 and was built to be read at a glance, with large text in light and dark modes, solid color backgrounds, and plenty of white space.

Brand partnerships on the screen

Hyundai has partnered with Pokémon on two display themes that take over both screens in six models, including the Ioniq 6, Ioniq 9, and Palisade. In India, Mahindra's BE 6 Batman Edition, made with Warner Bros. and priced around $33,000, sold all 999 units in 135 seconds in August 2025.

Research belongs at the start of a program

Every cabin feature James showed, from Scout's switches to Volvo's type to Hyundai's Pokémon screens, sits in the HMI, which is where GM is now bringing the speed it found in structural engineering. With less time to test a control layout on real drivers, I think the academic research James wants OEMs to use has the most value at the start of a program, before the layout is locked and long before an HMI problem becomes a recall.