Gold Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design · 2025
Journeylink Multi Vehicle Car Infotainment
by Yan Zeng, Ruifeng Wang and Yuyin Sun
- A' Design Award 2025 Gold Winner in Interface, Interaction and User Experience Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Journeylink
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 107,301
- Verification code 6CAC7684A8 · Verify this award
About Journeylink Multi Vehicle Car Infotainment
Journeylink is an in-car infotainment system supporting multivehicle coordination for group road trips. Through iterative layout testing, a card-based UI was optimized for driver accessibility. Features include real time location sharing, collaborative navigation and voice messaging. A prioritized notification system minimizes distractions by displaying alerts based on urgency. Additional tools such as view capture and trip memory support interactive yet safe travel experiences. The design emphasizes information hierarchy, accessibility, and seamless operation in fast-paced driving contexts.
Yan Zeng, Ruifeng Wang and Yuyin Sun's Journeylink Multi Vehicle Car Infotainment represents a significant contribution to contemporary automotive interface design, positioning itself within the evolving tradition of human-centered digital experiences that prioritize emotional resonance alongside functional utility. The work emerges from a design philosophy that recognizes travel as inherently social and memory-worthy, transforming the conventional navigational display into a sophisticated platform for journey documentation and interpersonal connection. The compositional strategy demonstrates remarkable restraint in balancing information density with visual clarity, deploying a dark-ground approach that reduces cognitive load during operation while allowing chromatic accents to guide attention with purposeful hierarchy. The cartographic visualization achieves particular distinction through its atmospheric rendering of terrain data, where subtle luminosity variations suggest urban concentrations and open passages without overwhelming the primary route narrative traced in distinctive magenta-violet. Typography throughout exhibits careful consideration of legibility at dashboard viewing distances, with weight variations establishing clear information hierarchy between headlines, statistics, and supporting text elements. The integration of photographic journey memories within the interface suggests an understanding that modern travelers seek documentation of experience rather than mere arrival at destinations, elevating the mundane act of driving toward something approaching visual diary keeping. The circular avatar arrangement along the left margin introduces social dimension to what might otherwise remain purely individual experience, acknowledging that contemporary travel frequently involves coordination among multiple parties across multiple vehicles. The warm coral and amber accent colors chosen for key statistics create welcoming thermal presence within the cool technological environment, preventing the interface from feeling clinically detached despite its sophisticated data visualization capabilities. One might consider how this approach to automotive interface design reflects broader cultural shifts toward experience documentation and social sharing, inviting viewers to contemplate the evolving relationship between technology, memory, and human connection during transit.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- JourneyLink is an advanced in car infotainment system designed for seamless multi vehicle coordination, enhancing road trips for families and friends. It integrates real time navigation, V2V communication, shared stops, and emergency alerts, ensuring a safer, more connected, and enjoyable group travel experience.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- JourneyLink is a digital in car infotainment application designed for seamless multi vehicle coordination. It operates on cloud based architecture, supporting real time V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) communication and GPS synchronization. The system is compatible with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and embedded vehicle infotainment systems, ensuring cross platform accessibility and smooth data transmission for group travel efficiency.
- Tags
- Vehicle to Vehicle communication, Road Trip Navigation, Multi Vehicle Coordination, In Car Infotainment, Group Travel App, Real Time GPS Sync, Family Road Trips, Connected Driving Experience, Smart Travel Assistant
- Production Technology
- JourneyLink was developed using advanced HMI (Human Machine Interface) design principles, integrating V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) communication technology for seamless multi vehicle coordination. The design process involved user research, prototyping, and iterative usability testing to refine interaction flows. Built for in car infotainment systems, it leverages cloud based real time data synchronization, ensuring reliable and intuitive user experiences.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest challenge was designing a seamless V2V communication system that enhances multi vehicle coordination without distracting drivers. Balancing real time updates, safety alerts, and user friendly interaction was critical. Technical constraints included ensuring reliable data synchronization across different vehicle systems. Extensive user testing helped refine the interface, ensuring smooth operation while maintaining safety and engagement, ultimately making group travel more efficient and enjoyable.
- Project Duration
- The project started in April 2023 in Philadelphia and San Francisco and was completed in August 2023.
- Operation Flow
- JourneyLink operates as a seamless in car infotainment system designed for multi vehicle road trips. Users can sync travel plans, share real time locations, and communicate via voice or text. Key interactions include setting shared stops, sending route deviation invites, and receiving emergency alerts. The V2V communication enables instant coordination, ensuring a smooth and connected group travel experience. Additionally, JourneyLink captures scenic moments throughout the journey, allowing travelers to document and relive shared memories, making road trips more enjoyable and meaningful.
- Research
- The research focused on enhancing multi vehicle travel coordination. Objectives included improving navigation, communication, and trip sharing. Methods involved secondary research, surveys (237 responses), and interviews with 10 road trip experts. Usability testing with 8 participants validated key features. Insights led to a user friendly V2V system that improves group travel efficiency, safety, and shared experiences, influencing both user engagement and the evolution of connected vehicle technology.
- Inspiration
- JourneyLink was inspired by the challenge of coordinating multi vehicle road trips for families and friends. Traditional navigation apps lack real time group coordination. By leveraging V2V communication, JourneyLink enables seamless route syncing, real time updates, and shared experiences, ensuring safer, more connected, and enjoyable road trips.
- Image Credits
- All image and video: Creator (Designer) Yan Zeng, Ruifeng Wang, Yuyin Sun, JourneyLink, 2025.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Yan Zeng, Ruifeng Wang, Yuyin Sun, 2025.