Cadillac Eterna
As part of a corporate project with Cadillac, I designed a futuristic $300,000 autonomous luxury SUV for the year 2040. The project aimed to push the boundaries of innovation, storytelling, and exclusivity, redefining automotive luxury through a new lens: time. In an era where convenience and freedom are the true markers of high-end living, Eterna transforms the vehicle into an intelligent, immersive experience—giving users less time on tasks, and more time for what matters.
Client:
Cadillac
Role:
UX Designer
Date:
Spring 2025
Duration:
5 months
💡 Design Challenge
How might we craft a luxury SUV experience that gives users back their time while enhancing comfort, connection, and family-first living?
👨👦 Persona
🧠 Process
To ground our vision in reality, we began by understanding the market for a $300,000 luxury SUV. With only 2% of Americans earning over $250K annually, our target user had to be ultra-high-net-worth individuals—those with $750K to $5M+ in yearly income and a net worth exceeding $5M. This insight reframed our design lens: for this audience, luxury isn’t just material—it’s about time, efficiency, and freedom. We benchmarked elite vehicles like Tom Brady’s custom Escalade and the Faraday Future FF 91, learning that true luxury means minimizing life’s friction.
Starting with personas who value precision and ease, I collaborated with industrial designers to explore bold concepts like a Golf Caddy, Smart Wardrobe, and a sculpted Kayak infused with Cadillac DNA. I also used AI tools to prototype motion ideas and futuristic environments, helping the team visualize our north star early on.
As we progressed, I connected deeply with Team Eterna—Cadillac’s internal design group—and aligned our efforts to ensure every interaction, from home to vehicle, felt seamless and intentional. Through this collaboration, we refined our features, prioritized storytelling, and built a cohesive ecosystem that reimagines Cadillac for the autonomous future. We eventually pivoted away from our initial product ideas to better align with the Eterna vehicle’s design language and team vision. In doing so, we developed two complementary innovations: the Smart Storage system and Lynx, the autonomous Cadillac companion bot, both designed to extend the Eterna experience into everyday life.
🌟 Key Features
Feature
Description
Welcome Atrium UI
Syncs home and car for seamless transitions, personalization, and status check
Lynx Bot
AI companion for pickups and errands, controlled by voice or gesture
AR Windshield Games
Interactive learning games for kids with gaze and gesture controls
Zen Mode
Lounge seats, ambient lights, and audio therapy for calming journeys
AR Home Cooking Assistant
Mixed reality assistant while cooking with family—safe and engaging
Environment Sync
Cabin adjusts to mood, weather, and user biometrics automatically
Eterna Welcome UI | Syncs home and car for a seamless transition, offering personalized greetings and system status updates. |
Environment Sync | Automatically adjusts cabin conditions—lighting, scent, temperature, and sound—based on mood, weather, and biometric data. |
Intuitive Notification System | Provides subtle, non-intrusive alerts that enhance awareness without distracting the user. |
AR Windshield Games | Interactive learning games for kids using gaze and gesture controls, encouraging safe and educational engagement. |
Zen Mode | Converts the cabin into a tranquil lounge with reclining seats, ambient lighting, and calming audio therapy. |
Cooking AR Assistant | A mixed reality guide for collaborative cooking experiences, offering step-by-step instructions, voice guidance, and safety cues. |
🎥 Storyboard
🎨 UI & Interaction System
The Cadillac Eterna experience was built on a multi-sensory, immersive interface powered by smart contact lenses, gesture-based interaction, and gaze-based triggers—both at home and inside the car. The interface seamlessly adapts to the user’s environment, offering dynamic control over temperature, scent, lighting, and sound, creating a personalized atmosphere with every ride. The MR HUD (Mixed Reality Heads-Up Display) takes visual cues from Cadillac’s sculptural design language, blending elegance with intuitive interaction. A detailed UI style guide ensured consistency across all touchpoints, while the experience was prototyped in Figma and After Effects to bring every interaction to life with high-fidelity motion and interface flow.
POINTER
WIREFRAME
UX GRAPHIC
HUD GRPHIC FOR TEXT
COLOR SHADES
GRADIENT
EFFECT
ICONOGRAPHY
POINTER
WIREFRAME
UX GRAPHIC
HUD GRPHIC FOR TEXT
COLOR SHADES
GRADIENT
EFFECT
ICONOGRAPHY
Exploring States While Experiencing Mixed Reality
🚗 Cadillac Eterna – In-Car Experience Interface
Explore the future of intuitive luxury with Cadillac Eterna’s immersive in-car interfaces, blending ambient intelligence with family-focused features.
Welcome & Cabin Sync
Eterna Welcome UI - Syncs your smart home and vehicle for a seamless transition. Personalized greetings, environment presets, and a full system status update greet you as you enter.
Environment Sync - The cabin auto-adjusts lighting, scent, temperature, and media based on mood, weather, and biometrics—creating a truly adaptive in-car sanctuary.
Family Interaction & Mindful Riding
Intuitive Notification System -Subtle, non-disruptive notifications ensure you stay informed without compromising focus.
AR Windshield Games - Designed for kids, these gaze- and gesture-controlled educational games bring learning into every journey.
Zen Mode - Lounge seats recline as ambient lights, calming soundscapes, and audio therapy transform the vehicle into a peaceful retreat.
Mixed Reality Kitchen Assistant
Cooking AR Assistant - While parked or at home, collaborate with family using a safe and engaging mixed reality assistant. Step-by-step recipes, object recognition, and voice-guided actions make cooking interactive and fun.
🗂️ Design Explorations: The Paths We Didn’t Take
Notice for Mobile Visitors
This case study is designed for an enhanced viewing experience and is only available on the web version of our site. Please visit us on a desktop browser to explore the full details. Thank you! RideHERO streamlines the entire process for convenience and cost-efficiency.
Home Page