Tre BEV
The Nikola Tre BEV is a reimagined cabover designed for short-haul, metro-regional applications.
I have worked on the Tre BEV program for over five years, starting in 2019. As the first and only UX Designer in the company at the time, I was responsible for the end-to-end design of the in-vehicle experience—a daunting task with only a year and a half until series production.
As the first of two powertrains leveraging the Tre platform, the challenge was to create a user experience that could scale with the additional functionality of the subsequent Hydrogen powered Tre FCEV.
Contributions
- Advanced UX Design
- HMI Requirements
- Scalable Design System
- Audio UX
- 0-1 Design Process
Digital UX
Tre BEV comes standard with a 12.8" digital instrument cluster and industry leading 17.3" infotainment display. The safety of our drivers is top priority and is a lens that all design decisions are filtered through. We leveraged this digital canvas to provide a simple and innovative digital experience that keeps eyes focused on the road and the task at hand.
Notable features that I designed end to end include Message Center, Vehicle Controls, Settings, Navigation, Media, HVAC, Charging and Start Up / Shutdown experience.
Message Center
The Message Center is a dedicated area within the instrument cluster, designed to deliver critical information to drivers with clarity and precision. It prioritizes Tier 1 and Tier 2 warnings, focusing on actionable faults that affect drivability, ensuring that only essential issues are displayed to minimize distractions. By presenting messages in a concise and easily digestible format, the Message Center helps drivers stay focused on the road while remaining informed about essential vehicle status updates.
In the early days of the program, I designed this notification mechanism as the list of faults shrouded behind generic ISO telltales was piling higher and higher.
Production HMI Map
I developed an HMI Map to catalog and document the switches, stalks, knobs, and buttons within the truck's interior. This resource was critical for ensuring a consistent and intuitive user experience, forming the foundation for UX design decisions and fostering cross-functional alignment. My contribution streamlined collaboration between design, engineering, and testing teams, ensuring the physical controls aligned seamlessly with the in-vehicle experience strategy.
