"Breed" is a vehicle interior concept for 2012 which takes into consideration the growing problem of road rage and aggressive behaviours during driving.

The Idea

Lee Atwell's research investigated how a vehicle interior can influence driver emotion in order to try and reduce aggressive and sometimes violent actions on the public roads.

He went though the psychology of aggression to find out why people act differently in their cars.

He found out that violent drivers are usually males under 30 years of age and that the aggressive behaviours can be explained with several psychological factors: frustration, deindividuation, presence of aggressive cues.

As Lee explains "I began to think about a vehicle interior which might be able to communicate with the occupants subconsciously on an emotional level.

"I investigated subliminal messaging to see if I could use it in some way possibly through the heads up display, I also looked at hypnosis, mind control, shape, colour and natural survival."

Breed Interior - Alias Studio Tools Screenshot

"I produced an experiment where I asked participants to link shape to emotion, I found that people link triangles with high tech and anger, while circles are usually linked to calmness and relaxation.

"So I decided to combine circular and triangular elements to express technical excellence along with calming and relaxing elements.

"I wanted all the surfaces and lines to flow along the inside of the car in a way which might be associated with waves or hypnotic patterns. I wanted the interior to work on an emotional level in the same way a beautiful car exterior does.

After the presentation of the concept sketches, the idea was approved and the digital model was created using Alias Studio Tools.

The Design

The centre display was developed by combining touch screen technology with conventional switches technology.

"The problem with touch screens is that you cannot feel the buttons, you have to physically look at it, so I wanted to create a tactile touch screen, with physical buttons behind the touch screen, which is made of a flexible membrane that lets you feel the buttons and hear them click.

At the same time any one button can perform several functions depending on which screen is being displayed.

This allowed to reduce the area dedicated to controls and displays, so that the aesthetics of the interior can dominate the functional aspects. "My research shows that simple and uncluttered compositions and more relaxing to view."

The seats design is inspired by the hydrostatic skeleton of a worm: they are segmented into air filled compartments which conform to the shape of the occupants and allow for seat adjustments.

About the author

Lee Atwell has completed the MDes Transport Design Course at Coventry University.

• Online portfolio: www.coroflot.com/leeatwell
• email: leeatwell@hotmail.com
• Phone: +44 (0) 07908630273

(Image courtesy: Lee Atwell)