Digital experience
Vision for in-car user experience
In-car experience
Spatial sound, visualised
The primary screen gives driver and passenger individual control over their listening experience. Stereo and spatial modes are toggled from a shared top bar, while real-time audio visualisations — abstract, heat-mapped blobs — represent the sound field around each seat.
Default and personalised presets are surfaced as quick actions, so adjusting the sound takes a single tap — no menus, no buried settings.
Interactive prototype
Overview
Denon automotive UI
For CES 2025, we designed a new interface for Denon as a bold statement of intent — a premium audio brand reclaiming its place inside the car. The brief was open: imagine what in-car audio could look like if it were truly designed for the listener.
We focused on making something that felt alive — responding to the audio environment in real time, visualising sound spatially, and giving both driver and passenger meaningful control over their personal listening experience.
The team
- 1x Prototyping — hardware & integration
- 1x UI, UX, visual design, visual direction, animation (me)
- 1x Principal designer - Overall direction & planning
Out of car experience
Sound beyond the vehicle
CES visitors could experience Denon audio outside the car through a companion app. The app extended the in-car visual language — the same spatial visualisations, the same personalisation controls — but on a mobile screen, letting attendees carry the experience away from the demo vehicle.
This reinforced Denon's presence as a connected audio ecosystem rather than a single hardware install.
Animations
Motion tied to the music
New animations were created specifically for personalised sound — the audio visualisations breathe and shift in response to the sound field, making the abstract feel tangible. Each preset has its own character: the default state is calm and symmetrical; personalised modes introduce asymmetry and warmth.
The animations were designed to be background-present — never distracting while driving, but unmistakably alive when you glance at the screen.
Outcome
Denon, reimagined in the car
The interface was demoed at CES 2025 inside a Tesla, running on the car's native display with a hardware prototype built by the team. The demo attracted significant attention from automotive audio partners and press, positioning Denon as a serious contender in the next generation of in-car audio experience.
The project demonstrated how a heritage audio brand can use design — not just sound quality — to differentiate in a crowded automotive market.