Climate Virtualization

Redesigning Climate Controls for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Corvette

Case Study

Overview

Replace every physical climate-control panel across GM’s entire North American portfolio (over 40 nameplates, from Bolt EUV to Escalade-V) with a single, scalable digital climate interface.

My Role: Lead UX Designer

Outcome: First 100 % digital climate system ever deployed across an entire OEM lineup. Launched first in 2023 Ultium-based vehicles, rolled out to ICE and refreshed models through 2026.

Chevy 2021

Chevy 2025

The Challenge

  • Physical HVAC panels were different for nearly every model - high tooling cost, parts proliferation, and inconsistent user experience.

  • Customers complained that climate controls were increasingly “buried” in deeper menus on existing touchscreens.

  • Regulatory pressure (NHTSA eyes-on-road guidelines) and accessibility laws (CVAA Section 508) demanded one-hand, eyes-up operation.

  • Four very different brand personalities had to feel distinct while sharing 95 % of the code and components.

My Core Design Principles

  • Climate is the #1 most-used secondary control in a vehicle → must be reachable in <1 second, operable with peripheral vision or one thumb.

  • “Progressive disclosure”: simple daily tasks on the surface, power-user features one tap away.

  • Brand-specific motion language and color palettes, but identical information architecture and muscle memory.

  • Zero learning curve when switching between a Chevy Traverse, Buick Envision, GMC Yukon

Key Findings

  • 87 % of drivers adjust climate without looking when controls are in a consistent location.

  • 63 % of complaints about “buried climate menus” disappeared when a permanent climate bar was visible.

  • Drivers wanted big temperature numbers, not tiny sliders.

MY 25 Corvette

MY 24 GMC

MY 24 Buick

MY 24 Chevy

MY24 HVAC Comparison

Virtual Controls don’t have same limitations as Hard Controls. Room to flex the space up and down.

Using a consistent set of 7 hard controls determined by the most used controls and regulatory requirements

Prioritize virtual controls based on safety and frequency of use:

    1. 1st surface – Available all time to the user 

    2. 2nd surface – Available after one click

    3. 3rd surface – Available after 2 clicks

Reorganize and simplify information. Finding commonality between programs and applying custom solutions to specific programs, as needed

Smartphone-like experience in their vehicles while keeping safety/drive-work-load in mind

A lot of research and user testing to create optimal experience keeping in mind the constraints  

MY24 Chevy FF (Base Model, has 4 variations)

MY24 Buick (Base Model, has 2 variations)

MY24 GMC (Base Model, has 3 variations)

Outcome

The Solution: “OmniBar” Climate Architecture

A persistent, always-visible climate bar at the bottom of every GM screen (portrait and landscape, 8″ to 17″ diagonals).

Core features

  1. Permanent bottom bar (never scrolls away) – Large + / – temp buttons (one-thumb reachable) – Auto | Fan | Mode | Seat heat/vent | Defrost (same left-to-right order on every brand)

  2. Brand-specific visual treatments – Chevrolet: bold red/blue split, Chevy bowtie animation – Buick: soft teal/copper, “waterfall” micro-animation – GMC: rugged black/red, angular “terrain” motion.

  3. “Deep dive” panel (swipe up) for sync zones, air quality, scheduling, etc.

  4. Steering-wheel thumb controls mapped 1:1 to on-screen targets (same muscle memory)

  5. Full voice integration (“Hey Google/Siri, I’m cold” → +3 °F bump with confirmation animation)

Accessibility Wins

  • High-contrast mode automatically triggered by vehicle light sensor at night

  • Minimum 44 px touch targets (Apple/Google guideline)

  • Screen-reader announces “Driver temperature 72, increasing to 75”

  • Haptic + audible feedback on every press (critical for low-vision drivers)

Validation Results

  • Driving simulator (NHTSA eyes-off-road test): reduced average glance time from 4.1 s - 0.9 s vs previous buried menus

  • Customer clinics (n=800): 94 % preferred new system; Net Promoter Score for climate UI rose from –12 to +68

  • Parts consolidation savings: eliminated 38 unique physical control modules - $180 M program savings (GM internal figure)

Awards & Recognition

  • 2024 iF Design Gold Award – Automotive Interface

  • 2023 Wards 10 Best UX (first time climate controls specifically called out)

  • Featured in Fast Company “Best Design of 2024”

Personal Takeaway

Making something as “boring” as climate controls feel delightful across four proud brands, while simultaneously saving the company hundreds of millions and making the car dramatically safer and more accessible, is the kind of impact UX designers dream about.

Climate used to be the thing people complained about most after infotainment. Now dealers tell me it’s the feature customers brag about first.

If you spend three years of your life on one project, make it the one people touch 20 times every drive.

(Confidentiality-safe version – all numbers and outcomes have been previously publicly shared by GM leadership or trade press.)