ENVGO

Designing a next-generation dashboard for a hydroplaning speedboat

Summary

Creation of a digital dashboard interface for ENVGO — a Canadian pioneer in hydroplaning speedboats.
The brief: design an interface for a vehicle that doesn’t yet exist, capable of visualizing live data such as speed, roll, and pitch while maintaining exceptional outdoor readability.
Delivered over an intense four-week sprint, the engagement covered concept development, interface design, prototyping, and multiple rounds of client testing.
The result was a fully realized UI system that merged the familiarity of automotive dashboards with the precision of aviation instruments — adapted for a marine environment.

Client

ENVGO is a Canadian hydroplaning speedboat manufacturer and R&D pioneer.

Timeframe

4 weeks from kickoff to delivery.

Team and roles

As the sole designer, my responsibilities included everything from being the main client contact with weekly syncs and ongoing asynchronous communication, conducting UX research and competitive analysis, developing wireframes and interactive prototypes, and producing the final UI deliverables and design components for developer handoff.

Process

Research

To ground the design in familiar interaction patterns, I drew inspiration both from automotive and aircraft dashboard systems, focusing on how they communicate complex real-time data at a glance.

Particular attention was given to pitch, roll, and trim visualization, as the hydroplaning boat needs instruments to visualize this that are not present in standard boat dashboard. Another challenge was achieving great contrast, color balance, and typographic scale for sunlight readability.

Dashboard references were taken both from the automotive world, as well as from pilot cockpits

Prototyping and iteration

Over the course of the project, I developed and refined multiple interactive prototypes, testing different data layouts, animation speeds, and interaction patterns.

Each iteration was reviewed together with the ENVGO team, who quickly identified new needs and opportunities as they saw the interface come to life.

This close feedback loop allowed the design to evolve rapidly — aligning the visual and functional layers of the UI with the realities of their hardware and use environment.

First prototype, based on a 16:9 aspect ratio spec. Here the design relied heavily on typography and lacked readability in harsh sunlight.
Later prototype, now adapted to a 6:4 aspect ration after the spec was changed mid project. Here, readability is better, but the design still relied too much on typography and failed to communicate the most important information at a glance.

UI components

The interface was built to handle dozens of live metrics without visual overload.

The key to achieving this was to stay away from typography at every opportunity, and instead rely on iconography and animation to convey information at a glance.

This approach meant that a library of bespoke components and icons were needed to cater to the unique needs of the ui.

The final prototype placed the speed dial front and center, together with clear indication of the speeds needed to enter the different modes (planing, takeoff, foiling). Iconography, colors and typography were all refined to increase legibility in outdoor conditions, and make the display glanceable, while still being information dense. The overall aesthetic was made to match the style of the boat and the direction the team wanted to take the branding.

Final prototype

Outcome

Throughout the design process, the design drafts were placed directly on the physical dashboard of ENVGO’s prototype boat. At the end, the final design performed very well both in the dry prototype as well as on the water. This real-world validation confirmed both the legibility and intuitive feel of the interface — even under rapid movement and changing light conditions.

“You’ve been a pleasure to work with, and the results look great.”

— Mike Peasegood, CEO, ENVGO

“We just had our final design sync this morning and we are super happy with how this project unfolded. Thanks so much Paul, it was great working with you.”

— April Blaylock, Project Lead, ENVGO

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