Member-only story
The Horrible UX Design of the Nissan Rogue
Following an intense Spring semester during my first year of grad school at Illinois State University, I wanted to visit home to see family and friends before the summer term began (we were given an entire week off in between!).
My aging 15-year-old Volkswagen Golf has seen better days, so I rented a Nissan Rogue for the 120-mile trip north to the Chicago Suburbs from Bloomington, IL.
Now I LOVE cars. It’s how I got into art and design. You ask a kid what they want to be when they want go grow up, they may say doctor or firefighter. Not me! I wanted to design cars for General Motors.
The Chicago Auto Show was an annual ritual for me and my brother. From second grade to my junior year of college, I only missed one!
While I am more of a hot hatchback fan (VW GTI, Toyota Corolla GR), I was intrigued by how an SUV like the Nissan Rogue would drive.
When I got into the Rogue, I looked down at the gear shift and was instantly befuddled. How does this thing work? I could not figure out how to use it. I had never seen a gearshift like this before. I had to Google how to use it, which sent me to a dealer video on how to use it.
User Experience (UX) is often associated with digital interfaces like smartphones, computers, and websites, but it also encompasses other digital interactions such as navigating streaming services or using wearable technology. Moreover, UX principles apply to the design of physical objects, including everyday tools and the cars we drive.
The Rogue gear shift (and the cruise control.. We’ll get to that later!) was NOT intuitive and lacked an affordance. What’s an affordance?
According to UX Planet
An affordance of an object provides a clue on how to use it. Affordances are cues that suggest how a user might interact with something, be it physical or digital. For example, a door handle indicates that you should use it to open the door, while a receiver icon suggests you can click it to make a call. Affordances simplify our lives by enabling us to interact with objects more easily.
