Porsche · 2018 · innovation.rocks · Red Dot
Explore a car you're standing next to — without hiding it.
An award-winning event and consumer AR app for Porsche's Mission E concept. A ring menu guided users around the real vehicle with animations and x-ray views from the best angle on site, using Project Tango.
ClientPorsche
RoleLead designer
DisciplineAR / spatial UX
ScopeConcept → shipped
Fig. 00 — Porsche Mission E AR. (Real project image.)
01 — The problem
Explore a car you're standing next to — without hiding it.
People stood next to the real car — the AR had to reveal the unseen (drivetrain, packaging) without covering the car itself.
An AR experience for the Mission E concept — let someone standing next to the car explore its technology without hiding the vehicle behind interface.
02 — Constraints
What made it hard.
- The real car stays the hero — UI must not bury it
- Best-angle guidance on a busy show floor
- Consumer app followed the event build
- Early AR hardware (Project Tango)
03 — Process
How I got there.
From the September 2017 concept study — concept render, in-app UI, and the VR-lab session where the ring size was tested and tuned.
04 — The key decision
Reframed around a choice, not a logo.
How do you let someone explore a car they're standing next to without hiding it behind UI?
TensionRich content (x-ray, animations, specs) vs. keeping the vehicle visible and the interaction glanceable.
ChoseA ring menu anchored around the car positions content at the best viewing angle; x-ray as a mode over the real vehicle.
WhyThe 2017 concept study compared two models: the spatial ring menu against a flat 2D selection. The ring kept the car central and guided users spatially — its size validated in VR-lab tests before build.
The decision, resolved: ring menu anchored to the car, x-ray as a mode — not a screen. Source: Red Dot 2018 entry (credited: Creative Direction — Deniz Örs).
05 — Outcome
What it achieved.
Results
Red Dot
Award — 2018
Event → consumer
Shipped both