Mobility design is currently undergoing a structural transformation in which the focus is no longer placed solely on the vehicle, but on the overall experience of its users.
Editorial
The mobility experience at the core of automotive design
Date
31 December 2025
Comfort, safety, interaction, and emotion are becoming central design criteria, on par with technical performance and aesthetics. User experience therefore takes on a decisive role, shaping formal, functional, and technological choices.
IED’s educational approach aligns with this evolution, fostering a design culture grounded in social responsibility, transdisciplinarity, and technical experimentation. The article examines the main challenges and opportunities facing Transportation Designers in contemporary mobility.
From technical design to user experience: a new design perspective
In contemporary mobility design, the transformation primarily concerns the design process itself. Project definition no longer begins solely from technical specifications, but from the analysis of user behaviours, usage contexts, and people’s expectations. Experience maps, usage scenarios, and user testing become central tools for guiding decisions related to form, interface, and functionality.
Automotive design therefore integrates competencies from UX design and experience design to analyse the interaction between the individual, the vehicle, and the environment, taking into account factors such as:
- Ease of use: the system’s ability to be intuitive and immediately understandable, reducing errors and learning time in the interaction with the vehicle.
- Cognitive load: the level of attention and mental effort required from the user to manage information, commands, and interfaces during use.
- Perceived safety: the sense of control, reliability, and protection conveyed by the vehicle, regardless of its actual technical performance.
- Continuity of experience: the coherence and fluidity of interaction across functions, environments, and moments of use throughout the entire travel journey
Sustainable mobility and social responsibility in design
The concept of sustainable mobility now plays an essential role in guiding design choices, shaping the use of materials, technologies, and transportation models. Innovations related to smart mobility make it possible to achieve more efficient, safer, and environmentally responsible travel.
This approach concerns the design of connected and digital mobility systems oriented toward people’s real needs, capable of optimizing travel, reducing traffic and emissions, and limiting energy waste.
Innovation and transdisciplinarity in IED’s educational pathways.
Within IED’s educational pathways, environmental and social responsibility is treated as a design criterion that guides decisions, technical choices, and design solutions. Students are encouraged to consider the entire ecosystem of vehicle and infrastructure use, from urban networks to modes of sharing and intermodality.
Transdisciplinarity represents an added value for addressing the complexity of mobility systems through diverse and interconnected perspectives. Teaching practices emphasize experimentation as a critical tool, encouraging the exploration of future scenarios and the informed use of technologies. Laboratories, workshops, and applied projects complete the training experience, enabling engagement with real and complex contexts.
The aim is to provide future professionals with meaningful resources and tools, enabling them to develop solutions that respond to real needs and generate a measurable impact on the social and environmental context
The future of mobility: emerging scenarios, technologies, and competencies.
The mobility sector is undergoing rapid transformations: artificial intelligence, automation, and connectivity are reshaping vehicles and infrastructures. As a result, the competencies required of Designers are also evolving, as they are increasingly called upon to integrate vision, technological capability, and cultural awareness.
Technical experimentation and continuous upskilling have become essential elements. In this context, the Designer takes on the role of an agent of change, responsible for decisions that affect quality of life, the environment, and the evolution of mobility models.
If you are seeking an educational pathway that enables you to develop solid and contemporary design skills in the field of mobility, explore IED’s courses.
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