Design
Christoph Ortmann, Alice Russo, Jonas Vaas, Henning Schulze, Karina Unterholzner, Frank Arnsperger, Laura Tremmel, Franz Vilsmeier, Angela Naegele, Sabine Paul, Wang Kewei, Ulrich Goss, Patrick Treder, Alexander Marsch, Marco Peter, Carsten Weber, Robert Sachon
Year
2023
Category
Product
Country
Germany
»With the ‘Digital Ring’ Bosch has succeeded in creating a distinctive user interface that serves as a recognizable brand element for all its household appliances. The generous and brightly illuminated touchscreen contains sophisticated graphics and animations that guide the user through the cooking process. Its consistent interface design allows for flexible and successful integration with health, wellness and sanitary appliances.«
Tapani Jokinen
And the Award goes to...
Three questions to the project team
What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
Since we wanted the Digital Ring to be a globally applicable user interface for household appliances, it was a long journey to find the right interaction archetype for the brand. We took on the challenge of understanding the needs from the perspective of the users, the business and the technology. Based on global user testing, we focused on these main outcomes to create a great user experience: Accommodating user needs across different regions and cultures, Flexibility to meet a wide range of specific product requirements and scalability depending on various hardware setups (e.g. display, performance, etc.).
What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
Our project highlights were: The initial idea for the digital ring, which was the combination of the central haptical ring with a full touch concept; The commitment of the business unit to large display sizes; First user testing with very positive feedback; Delivering a convincing UI concept within the given limits of an embedded electronic hardware; the market lunch at IFA 2022. Our aha moment was when we realized that people indeed make the difference! Processes and teams play a big role in digital product development. Low points of the project were the exhausting learning phase when we changed our way of working from waterfall to agile and surprising hardware restrictions like touch resolution and graphic performance where a rework of the concept was needed.
Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
In the next few years, the digital ring will be implemented in all upcoming digital (TFT) user interfaces of the Bosch brand. We will continue to improve it and create new features. We have started to develop a design system around the Digital Ring in order to accelerate implementation and increase quality standard. As part of the Bosch Design Team, we will drive all these activities within the company to create a holistic user experience for the brand.
