Press Release
Design Prize: German Design Council Awards
Continental Hybrid Instrument Cluster with "Best of Best"
Award
 Hybrid Instrument Cluster points to the future of the instrument cluster
 The best of both display worlds combined: analog and digital
 Design of the vehicle–driver interface becoming increasingly important
Babenhausen, August 24, 2015. The German Design Council awards Continental's Hybrid Instrument Cluster with the "Best of Best" award in the Automotive Brand Contest 2015. This
German Design Council award honors the outstanding achievements of the design team in the
automotive industry's product and communication design sectors. The team receives the award for
its contribution to the future of the instrument cluster in the car. The award will be presented during
the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt on September 15, 2015.
"With the optical three-dimensional structure and the associated virtual combination of digital and
analog worlds, the Continental designers are not only setting innovative esthetic standards, but
they are also offering their cockpit design colleagues completely new design possibilities," says
jury member Prof. Andrea Lipp, explaining why the Continental Hybrid Cluster merited the "Best of
Best" award.
"In our Hybrid Instrument Cluster, we combine a three-dimensional tinted glass-look surface with
traditional analog indicators," explains qualified designer Jochen Möller, who is responsible for the
product design. Along with the analog instrument dials, the high-quality seven-inch AMOLED display integrates seamlessly and with no visible edges into the 'black panel' surface of the instrument
cluster, says Möller. Pixels from OLED displays emit lights themselves unlike LCD/TFT displays.
Black-activated pixels therefore do not emit any light and are thus actually black ('active black panel'). This results in a higher contrast and invisible transitions between the display and the adjoining
surface. "The display content appears to be floating in the black space." However, the indicators
have deliberately been kept classically analog, so that the quality and three-dimensionality retain
their character.
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The hybrid principle thus runs through the entire design. Circumferential LED optical fibers, which
can emit light in a wide variety of colors, ensure striking ambient lighting. However, the light strip
can simultaneously supply the driver with important additional information. Möller gives an example: "If another vehicle overtakes, the driver is notified by means of partial illumination or color
changes in the LED strip without having to look to the side." The integrated display can show any
kind of information – from infotainment and navigation to warnings. The useful display surface in
this design is not trimmed with tubes. The indicators, dials, and display are so precisely coordinated that they allow the available display surface to be adapted to the situation and used optimally.
For example, the analog indicators interact with the display with the printed tube dials switching
seamlessly to digital as required.
With the Automotive Brand Contest, the German Design Council recognizes outstanding product
and communication design, steering attention toward the fundamental importance of brands and
brand design in the automotive industry. The focus here is on the holistic and consistent depiction
of the brand across all media and products. The competition is the only neutral, international design competition for automotive brands and, within a very short space of time, it has evolved into
one of the world's most important industry competitions. The Automotive Brand Contest provides
companies in the automotive industry and their partners in the supply, design, and brand communications industries with a platform to compare their achievements and position themselves on an
international level.
The Hybrid Instrument Cluster at a glance
 Seamless 3D black panel surface (tinted, deep-drawn with homogeneous light transmission)
 Active black panel effect thanks to the AMOLED properties, which give the instrument dials and
the display an identical appearance
 Seamless transition between analog and digital modes
 Display image with innovative "levels" effect on a three-dimensional surface
 Dynamic indicator interaction with the display
 Optimum utilization of the display space
Continental develops intelligent technologies for transporting people and their goods. As a reliable partner,
the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partner provides sustainable, safe,
comfortable, individual, and affordable solutions. In 2014, the corporation generated sales of approximately
€34.5 billion with its five divisions, Chassis & Safety, Interior, Powertrain, Tires, and ContiTech. Continental
currently employs approximately 200,000 people in 53 countries.
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In the Interior division, everything revolves around information management in the vehicle and beyond. The
range of products for various vehicle categories includes instruments, multifunction displays, head-up displays, control devices, access and tire information systems, radios, infotainment and operating systems,
climate control units, software and cockpits, telematics solutions and services, and intelligent transport systems. Interior employs over 36,000 employees worldwide. In 2014, it recorded provisional sales of approximately €7 billion.
Contact for journalists
Ilona Tzudnowski
Press Spokesperson, Interior division
Continental Automotive GmbH
Phone: +49 6196 87-2515
E-mail: ilona.tzudnowski@continental-corporation.com
This press release is available in the following languages: German
Press portal: http://www.continental-presse.de
Media database:
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Links:
Homepage: www.continental-corporation.com
Online media database: www.mediacenter.continental-corporation.com
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