Product Design - In-Vehicle Application

Designing GM’s SiriusXM App

Project Overview

As the lead designer for the SiriusXM application in General Motors (GM) vehicles, I spearheaded the design and user experience for one of the most integral and revenue-generating apps in GM's infotainment system. Available in every GM vehicle sold in North America, the SiriusXM app provides access to satellite radio and streaming content directly from the vehicle's dashboard, blending seamless functionality with partner requirements.

This project required a balance of partnership alignment, user experience design, and adherence to safety standards for in-vehicle usage. My focus was to deliver a consistent and user-friendly experience that harmonized with other GM infotainment audio apps while introducing unique features specific to SiriusXM.

Challenge

Design an infotainment experience for SiriusXM that:

Meets partner requirements: SiriusXM had specific needs for how their content would be displayed and navigated.
Maintains a native GM experience: The application had to fit within GM's existing infotainment ecosystem, ensuring design consistency with other vehicle audio apps like the radio.
Promotes safety: All interactions needed to be safe and intuitive for drivers, adhering to driver workload limitations while retaining rich functionality.

A view of the SiriusXM application’s Now Playing Screen with Pandora content playing

Design Process

Defining the Experience
Working from initial requirements to launch, I collaborated closely with SiriusXM to ensure their expectations were met. I also worked with GM engineers, UX researchers, and safety experts to design the app to function natively within GM's design system.
Establishing Consistency Across Audio Apps
One of the key considerations was ensuring a cohesive experience across the different audio apps. The SiriusXM Now Playing screen (seen above) was modeled after the existing radio app, allowing users to apply familiar mental models for a smooth transition between services. Elements like album artwork placement, playback controls, and metadata display were intentionally aligned with the radio experience.
Enhancing Usability with New Components
Where SiriusXM diverged from other audio apps, I designed unique features, such as the linear tuner, browse, and direct tune screens.
Detailing Behavior Scenarios
We accounted for various technical and content availability scenarios, including:
- Signal Loss: Behavior was designed for loss of satellite or IP signal to provide users with clear messaging and alternatives.
- Subscription Issues: When content was unavailable due to subscription limitations, users were guided with fallback states ensuring they were not left in an error state.
Prioritizing Safety
A major component of the project was ensuring safe driving. Working with driver workload engineers, we implemented logic that minimized driver distraction, such as intuitive placement of essential controls, simplified navigation paths, and defined fallback messaging for common errors without overwhelming the user.

Key Features Designed

Now Playing Screen: The central hub for playback controls, metadata, album artwork, and access to other features.
Linear Tuner: A swipeable and scrollable channel carousel that allows for intuitive channel navigation.
Direct Tune: Provides numeric channel search via a keypad and hardware buttons.
Browse Screen: Hierarchical content navigation for Talk, Sports, News, Music, and Pandora stations, simplifying content discovery.
Custom Homescreen Widget: A small now playing widget on the ICS homescreen with playback controls, metadata, album artwork

SiriusXM App Now Playing - Pandora Content

SiriusXM App Now Playing - Sports Content

GMC Custom Homescreen - SiriusXM Now Playing Widget

Collaboration and Launch

This project involved close collaboration with multiple stakeholders, including SiriusXM, GM’s internal development teams, driver workload engineers, and hardware teams. The final design successfully launched across every new GM vehicle, ensuring that SiriusXM’s extensive catalog of channels and content could be easily accessed in a driver-friendly and user-centric way.

Outcome

The SiriusXM application became a staple of GM’s infotainment system, driving significant revenue through the partnership while maintaining high standards for in-vehicle safety and usability. This project showcases my ability to lead large-scale design efforts, balance partner requirements with native design principles, and create a seamless, safe, and engaging user experience in the automotive space.