Oceanvolt is a Finnish manufacturer of auxiliary electric motors for sailboats with a unique recharging feature. The motors are controlled using a touchscreen for which a legible dashboard interface was designed with the added aim of contributing to brand building.
What was quite a straightforward design task was complicated by a few factors. First, the touchscreen is shared between other applications, such as a navigation plotter, and the Oceanvolt dashboard had to adapt to different available spaces.
Second, the circumstances at sea can be challenging in terms of visibility. Lastly, the dashboard had to be able to accomodate also configurations with two motors instead of one.
The project was a collaboration with Sini Sopo.
The dashboard interface was built around Oceanvolt’s logo, brand colours and typograpgy. It was also enriched with subtle animations. The motor can also run in reverse, which is showcased in the animation.Key information had to be clearly visible even under challenging conditions, which are common when sailing.The interface had to be able to clearly show warnings.Regeneration is Oceanvolt’s unique technology for rechargig the batteries when sailing on wind alone.In the idle state, the interface is clearly different from when the motors are enganged.Loss of battery connection is also a possible issue that needed to be indicated.The dashboard had to also adapt to configurations with two independently controlled motors.The touchscreen was shared with other functions, such as a navigation plotter. The default interface occupied half of the screen, but the design had to adapt to a wider view as well.The design had to be adapted to all possible permutations of available screen area and motor configurations.In addition to the main drive functions, the dashboard also offered functions for checking the battery status, help and system information.
