Fox Factory, the manufacturer of high-performance automotive components, wanted to create an in-vehicle interface that would allow users to dial in suspension settings on-the-fly. To realize the product, they turned to industrial design consultancy Formation Design.

As the firm writes:

"The LiveValve system is an evolution in off road suspension control. It marries an in vehicle physical control unit with a web and mobile application. The app provides customized set ups, post run feedback, and more that communicate with the in vehicle touchpoint controller. The touchpoint distills the complex set ups into a simplified interface for optimal control whilst driving."

"Through research and cycles of concept development it was determined that simple concise controls were needed in vehicle, and most existing products reflect this. However, by implementing simple controls you can get stuck trying to cover a wide range of potential desired settings with limited input selections."

"Our goal was to design a system that could filter down the potential desired settings based on terrain. Then within the terrain settings you could have a more niche range of options, which could be even further dialed in with the web/mobile application. Combining all this together with Fox's LiveValve tech will help users achieve perfect suspension setting."

"After concept exploration for both the web/mobile application and the in vehicle controller select designs were taken forward into physical prototypes. This led to human factors and usability testing to advance the concept. "

"Due the expected rough terrain impacting users dexterity we aligned on paddles to allow for larger motor control inputs. These paddles had simple up and down functions to cycle through two columns of options."

You can see more of Formation Design's work here.