International
Human Machine Interface
Project Overview
International, formerly Navistar, is one of North America’s largest truck manufacturers, holding 18% of the Class 6–8 heavy-duty truck market. In early 2025, the brand launched its biggest overhaul in decades alongside a new line of trucks, prompting a complete reimagination of the driver cabin digital experience.
Mission: “Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel.”
The User
Unlike competitors, most of International’s sales are fleet-based. Drivers often rotate through four to five truck configurations each week. Experts at handling massive vehicles, these users still prefer physical buttons over digital screens. By understanding their practical needs and preferences, I design solutions tailored to real-world application a user-centric approach blending creativity and data.
Hardware to Software
With over 100 years of legacy products this was the first fully digital dashboard designed with code instead of physical parts. The design team inherited the product architecture from International’s sister company Scania. A gap analysis revealed major differences in product function, legal requirements, and vehicle integration. The largest of these gaps was the addition of a second sleeper control monitor and idle power supply mode.
Icons
After studying the design language of the rebrand I built the 300+ icons needed for the product. While a small detail in any user interface, icons are incredibly complex. It can be tricky to maintain brand consistency and legal readability in 27 pixels. By developing a proportions based system I was able to solve much of the design challenge while also gathering functional requirements.
Driver Display
Heavy-duty trucks display more information than cars, with 15+ gauge readouts condensed into one digital page. Prioritizing the eyes, the speedometer and tachometer were redesigned for clarity using inherited container boxes from Scania. This approach reinvents the driver display while keeping critical info front and center.
HVAC
When your car is also your apartment HVAC matters twice as much, literally. The truck needed a way to control both the front climate and sleeper control climate while preserving the inherited system framework. This interface was A/B tested with users gaining feedback on usability from sliders to buttons to readouts and everything in between.
Result
A fully digital, user-centric dashboard that balances legacy architecture with modern design, keeping drivers safe, informed, and comfortable on the road.