Renault Trucks is a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been a subsidiary of the Volvo Group since 2001.

Halle du Design is a special place inside Renault Trucks where all the product design takes place. I’ve joined the team in 2019 to mainly work on the HMI redesign of one of their medium-duty truck line. Later, I moved on helping heavy-duty (long distance range) HMI UI design and also created some special edition truck coverings.

Here are some of the things I accomplished as a designer on this project:
• Update the UX/UI design of various HMIs on medium and heavy-duty trucks (long distance range)
• Improve the UX/UI based on feedback (user testing)
• Test mockups in real conditions
• Provide video prototypes for developers in order to describe animations and/or particular behavior
• Dialogue between engineers and hardware supervisors
• Initiate the transition to full Sketch projects with the use of a Design System
• Design exploration on harmonizing assets between products
• Design coverings for special edition trucks
• Attend regular-day deliveries with real drivers to be fully aware of constraints

Working on truck HMIs has been a good challenge because this exercise is a lot different than what I was used to. Unlike computer and smartphone screens, inside their cabins drivers have a lot more constraints. While driving, they usually just give a glimpse at the screen (that often is mediocre quality), light can be severely reflecting and controls are very unique. So your user interface has to have distinct zones, good contrast and precise feedbacks for every actions.

Having the possibility to test my prototypes inside Halle du Design was very handy. It is almost the same setup as in the driver’s cabin so it’s easier to project yourself.

For more advanced testing, I had the possibility to gather small groups of truck drivers inside a dedicated testing cabin with real simulation gear.

Underneath are some designs I made for the heavy duty truck lineup. On this project I’ve been working mainly two other colleagues: Léa Faurie and Frederic Celle. They are the ones who initiated the first prototypes.

Renault Trucks often use coverings to highlight new machines or special edition trucks. I had the opportunity to work on some of them.

One of them has recently been released: Optifuel T-High firmware upgrade. This update for used trucks allows the fuel consumption to drop by 5% using various tweaks and optimizations.