When ICON asked me to join, one of the first calls was, “Hey, we’ve got some PACCAR projects that could use your touch.” Challenge accepted. PACCAR, the parent company of Peterbilt and Kenworth, has been a long-time ICON partner, and my job was to lead two key projects: an ICE vehicle integrated center screen concept and an all-new EV cluster and center display. This one’s about the integrated system.

PACCAR came to us with a clear challenge: figure out what truckers actually want (and expect) from the tech inside their rigs. Like most PACCAR projects, it all kicked off with research, because Peterbilt and Kenworth are very data-driven. My team hit the road for a week of ride-alongs, driver interviews, and a few strategic truck-stop conversations (nothing says “tell me about your day” like a free gift card).

What we found was that truckers were basically running mission control from three different systems: their phone, a company-issued logistics tablet, and the truck’s built-in display. None of them talked to each other. Drivers wanted integration, speed, OTA updates, and modern, vehicle-grade hardware, basically, the same kind of experience they already had in their pocket.

Honestly, not surprising. I’ve always believed that good design borrows from what people already know. No one wants to learn a brand-new system for something they use a few hours a day, especially while hauling 80,000 pounds down the highway.

Now, here’s where it got interesting: Peterbilt and Kenworth couldn’t exactly be in the same meetings (competitors and all). That made building shared UX frameworks… fun. But my small team pulled it off, we found the common threads while keeping each brand’s look and feel unique. The result was a set of cohesive yet distinct digital experiences built to inspire PACCAR’s internal design teams.

The goal wasn’t production, it was to spark creativity, push boundaries, and show what’s possible when user needs and brand DNA meet in the middle of the open road. Below is a look at what my team and I created, a mix of UX, UI, and a whole lot of hands-on design magic.