Software update 2020.48.26.x update, font size problems

[smogne41]

It's a plague in UI/UX design for probably the last 6 years, not just Tesla but across the industry. Just lots of arbitrary fads and style change with very little concern for usability. Here is the thing, after the 2nd or 3rd major revision of a software product, the UI usually reasonably optimized. If you then start throwing arbitrary changes on top of it (to keep it 'fresh'), most of the time you just end up de-optimizing the interface and pissing off your user base. Arbitrary change for changes sake is not innovation, or improvement. If you don't make changes based to usability improvements, you will almost always make the usability worse.

 

[Trevor B]

I still haven't gotten used to this hideous UI, there's also a ton of wasted white space.

It's not that hard to make the onscreen layout configurable. Hoping the vast number of complaints forces Tesla to fix the botched redesign.

 

[Transformer]

Hoping the vast number of complaints forces Tesla to fix the botched redesign.

Hoping this gets Tesla to fix broken processes:

• Test that safety critical information is visible from the range of driver heights and seat positions (without moving your hand from the steering wheel or moving your head around it).
• Test that critical information has readable size, contrast, and stroke width for the range of driver eyeballs.
• Usability tests on UI changes.

 

[bo3bdar]

It's a plague in UI/UX design for probably the last 6 years, not just Tesla but across the industry. Just lots of arbitrary fads and style change with very little concern for usability. Here is the thing, after the 2nd or 3rd major revision of a software product, the UI usually reasonably optimized. If you then start throwing arbitrary changes on top of it (to keep it 'fresh'), most of the time you just end up de-optimizing the interface and pissing off your user base. Arbitrary change for changes sake is not innovation, or improvement. If you don't make changes based to usability improvements, you will almost always make the usability worse.

This hits the nail on the head. UI/UX design is plagued by graphic artists who pretend to be designers. User Experience is a distant fourth priority over pretty, 'fresh', 'clean'. Anytime a designer uses the word 'clean', and they will- they mean empty of any content, so we can have pretty white space. And grey on grey fonts to make it 'clean'. And let's change the look of the icons, because we literally have zero ideas, and it'll be 'fresh'. Apparently no one can even recall what the word 'icon' means.

My other observation here is that for some reason now that we use fingers- every user interface must be a point and click adventure game. Can I click on this? What about this? Is this a picture or a button? Wait this text is live, what does it do? Does it have to be a game? Discoverability is not the same as usability, and I thought the early UI was OK on usability, and gave them a pass on discoverability. This update though- no usability, nor discoverability.

It's pathetic that Tesla has the same crap designers for something as important as the UI while hurtling down a freeway. It's not a phone, guys.


I'm not expecting Tesla to fix this. Once the UI 'pretty' rot sets in, the UI will remain wrecked. I've stuck a post it note over that retarded FSD animation, because that is literally dead space, and I don't need distractions while driving. I could not care less what the car can see- I should never have any need to know what it sees. It's just an advertisement.

 

[HankLloydRight]

This hits the nail on the head. UI/UX design is plagued by graphic artists who pretend to be designers. User Experience is a distant fourth priority over pretty, 'fresh', 'clean'. Anytime a designer uses the word 'clean', and they will- they mean empty of any content, so we can have pretty white space. And grey on grey fonts to make it 'clean'. And let's change the look of the icons, because we literally have zero ideas, and it'll be 'fresh'. Apparently no one can even recall what the word 'icon' means.

My other observation here is that for some reason now that we use fingers- every user interface must be a point and click adventure game. Can I click on this? What about this? Is this a picture or a button? Wait this text is live, what does it do? Does it have to be a game? Discoverability is not the same as usability, and I thought the early UI was OK on usability, and gave them a pass on discoverability. This update though- no usability, nor discoverability.

It's pathetic that Tesla has the same crap designers for something as important as the UI while hurtling down a freeway. It's not a phone, guys.


I'm not expecting Tesla to fix this. Once the UI 'pretty' rot sets in, the UI will remain wrecked. I've stuck a post it note over that retarded FSD animation, because that is literally dead space, and I don't need distractions while driving. I could not care less what the car can see- I should never have any need to know what it sees. It's just an advertisement.

Excellent post. I just don't understand how every time Tesla updates their UI, it get's remarkably worse for usability.


I posted this in another thread -- I had a chance to get a sneak peak at FW Version 11

 

[EV-Methow]

I really gave it my best shot to get used to the new UI but I just went from disappointed to angry every time I drive our Y. I live in a rural area and the satellite view is a favorite, and very useful, feature. I want it as big as possible. And, of course, the last thing in the world I need while driving is a silly picture of my car going down the road, particularly when it is a huge, bright, distracting silly picture. I can't think of a reason in the world why the nimrods that came up with this change think it's good. And it is insanely frustrating that even if you can find a way to send feedback it just falls on deaf ears. The next person to interview Elon really needs to make him explain this horrible change. Better yet, I wish Sandy Munro would just trash the interface because he apparently has Elon's ear. The worst is going to be the inevitable lawsuit when someone claims they crashed because the UI encouraged them to watch the screen, not the road. Doing my best to move back to disappointed because driving angry is as dangerous as the UI.

 

[scottf200]

See Elon's response at the end of last year.

 

[scottf200]

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotor...iffed_at_the_new_ui_looking_so_cheap/ghi4jhc/

 

[kavyboy]

My other observation here is that for some reason now that we use fingers- every user interface must be a point and click adventure game. Can I click on this? What about this? Is this a picture or a button? Wait this text is live, what does it do? Does it have to be a game?

The term for that concept is Mystery Meat Navigation.
I remember the old user interface hall of shame website from way back in the, what 90's? It's like modern designers took that as a playbook instead of a warning.

Two things I found funny-ish:
1) This site doesn't actually looks so ridiculous anymore. I used to read it and laugh and roll my eyes.
2) The quote "With gimmicks like this, is it any wonder that Word now consumes 120 MegaBytes of disk space". My Word16 directory tops 1.5GB, and I'm sure it has additional dependencies scattered all over the place.

 

[smogne41]

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotor...iffed_at_the_new_ui_looking_so_cheap/ghi4jhc/

I would pay good money to just get the mini view and never have the car animation again. Though it needs a regen bar.

 

[bo3bdar]

Excellent post. I just don't understand how every time Tesla updates their UI, it get's remarkably worse for usability.


I posted this in another thread -- I had a chance to get a sneak peak at FW Version 11

Oooh... Pretty! And also Fresh UI thinking there. Soooo Clean. :-> Nice one.


My last post was trimmed because I'm a new poster I guess, and not allowed to add links?

I am curious if anyone here has experience with the Hansshow after market dashboard screen? I'm not making an ad for that, I'm asking for opinions of anyone who has used the first gen. For any moderator- this is directly related to the topic, it's a solution to the terrible Tesla UI.

 

[Transformer]

New See Elon's response at the end of last year.

Elon agreed we need a UI overhaul, 2 months ago.

Hopefully it'll fix the dangerous UI issues, not merely the misuse of space, e.g. common operations that take too many taps on small targets in a moving car. Besides making targets larger, maybe support gestures that you can enter without looking? The existing swipes would be an example if you didn't have to look carefully to start at a small target.

(I haven't had a lot of success with voice commands, so those didn't pan out as a substitute. "Enable recirculation" works but "disable recirculation", "turn off recirculation", "set recirculation off", etc. also enable it!)