Jan Chipchase in Lift Asia 08 part II.

Something else he said.

It's easier to design for single use. Designing for shared use is always harder because it's more complex and there are more variables.

To what extent is this true when designing automobiles? Is there a husband's car and a wife's car? Of course there is but what distinctively separates the two other than usage? Is it the final call of decision made by the husband or the wife? What about the father and son? What about two sisters? Is this what Toyota mean by universal design? But didn't we learn that in order to serve happiness to people, we've got to put them into meaningful clusters to unearth their diverse needs? Remember, it's no more about the sweet spot, it's the sweet spots. So if that's the case, then how do we design a shared space that still maintains the personalization depending on who's using it, when? More space for mom's groceries? Same space for dad's golf clubs? How about a personalized temperature and music controller that remembers the driver? If I'm not mistaken, that is a technology of BMW (who else?). What else?