As essential as issues like touchscreens and software program are to the trendy automotive expertise, we seldom cease to ask why every little thing appears to be like so ugly.
Your common automotive’s touchscreen and menus doubtless have all of the performance of a Palm Pre, with the aesthetic enchantment and inventive worth of a Fort Price outlet mall. Their menus and controls usually really feel haphazardly designed and look completely forgettable. That is true even after greater than a decade of in-car display dominance and a future we’re continuously advised 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 must 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, velocity 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 films like Again to the Future and Knight Rider.
After I requested Rivian’s Chief Design Officer Jeff Hammoud why his workforce went this route, one phrase got here up repeatedly: “Optimism.”
“We felt it was a chance to have slightly little bit of enjoyable and create a persona across the automotive,” Hammoud mentioned in a current interview. Greater than that, he mentioned, the brand new software program interfaces replicate a philosophy inside Rivian. “We would like all of it to look inviting,” Hammoud mentioned. “Our autos have a pleasant look and that’s a part of our model… that optimism round what we’re making an attempt to do via electrification and defending the world for our children.”
Picture by: InsideEVs
2025 Rivian R1S and R1T Graphics
Rivian’s new interface language went stay 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 car that spins and transforms as they alter issues like experience top settings and the assorted driving modes.
On one other automotive, switching to sport mode would possibly imply a brand new set of gauges on the central show or shifting the menus to a purple shade scheme. However on an R1S or R1T, a cartoon depiction of the automotive zooms onto what appears to be like like a race observe 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 affords a shift to an enthralling winter panorama or the car perched atop a rocky mountain. Clouds, windmills and birds transfer about within the backgrounds and all of those visuals tackle a unique character at evening as effectively.
Picture by: InsideEVs
2025 Rivian R1S and R1T Graphics
None of that is important for a automotive to perform correctly, in fact, and it’s extremely unlikely that these animated graphics will probably be a make-or-break promoting level. However they add a ton of one thing intangible—character—to Rivian’s automobiles, and so they flip one thing that was once an afterthought at finest into one thing you truly sit up for utilizing. And Hammoud mentioned {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 films the place you are feeling such as you’re in one other world, and actually taking that into a mode the place we might create the completely different worlds of the drive modes,” Hammoud mentioned. 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 lately, The Boy and the Heron. All of these are landmark animated movies launched to worldwide acclaim. However Hammoud mentioned in addition they share the overall vibe Rivian goes for today.
Picture by: InsideEVs
2025 Rivian R1S and R1T Graphics
“You have a look at one thing like Akira, versus Studio Ghibli,” he mentioned, referring to the Nineteen Eighties comedian and landmark animated movie a few dystopian future. The latter is “slightly bit extra optimistic and on the pleasant facet of that. We wish to talk energy and dynamism with the car, however we nonetheless wished to have this form of, ‘sitting down Sunday morning watching cartoons along with your children’ vibe with it as effectively.”
That stands in stark distinction with one other eye-catching electrical car designed that has a distinctly apocalyptic power: onerous 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 offended, just like the entrance ends might eat babies,” Hammoud mentioned. “Purposely, we’re like, ‘All proper, effectively, we do not want a giant grill.’ We would like it to look inviting. Take a look at our headlight shapes. Our autos have a pleasant look.”
A lot of this was afforded by the facility of the Unreal Engine, a 3D graphics software program system made well-known in video video games that’s now making its method to the automotive world. This allowed Rivian’s artists and designers to “scale” all these new photographs simply with out having to attract every one individually.
“It was actually essential to us that no matter automotive you might have, it’s the precise set of wheels and it is the precise shade [on the screen], in order that method we’re taking a look at is definitely consultant of your car,” Hammoud mentioned. “If we needed to create, which is what we did prior to now, a picture for each single [Rivian color or option], that’s 1000’s and 1000’s of photographs.”
With the Unreal Engine, Hammoud mentioned, “You set within the specs of the car, like if it is a Forest Inexperienced automotive 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 lately added a cartoon canine to its infotainment programs as an AI-powered digital assistant, and several other Chinese language automakers are taking related approaches. And as with these automobiles, Rivian’s method goes past mere visuals; these capabilities signify new methods for drivers to work together with their automobiles and management their options within the software-driven car period.
So does it work? Based mostly on a current check of a 2025 Rivian R1S, I feel the reply is generally sure. It’s pretty straightforward to search out the capabilities you need and the large, vivid shows signify novel methods of presenting info to the driving 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 rivals.
However this method to software program does present what Rivian’s made from, and why a standard conglomerate just like the Volkswagen Group sees such worth in what the corporate does. That 2025 R1S received 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 automotive’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 street, it’s received extra in retailer for its present automobiles each via software program updates and extra tweaks—although Hammoud was cagey about what precisely is coming subsequent.
“We’ve got some new updates which might be coming subsequent yr on R1 that I am excited to share, some particular editions,” Hammoud mentioned. “I am going to go away it at that.”
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