Ep. 318 - The Untold Story of Ather’s Iconic Design with Harish Kumar and Anurag Bartarey

SummaryThis episode of The Gyaan Project features Harish Kumar and Anurag Bartarey who shaped Ather Energy’s groundbreaking EV dashboard. Recorded just before Ather’s IPO, we dive into the design process, challenges, and the nuances that make the dashboard so unique. It is ideal for designers, technologists, and EV enthusiasts curious about how hardware and software come together on two wheels. This is not a sponsored episode, just a deep and fun conversation.Topics discussed in the episode* What drew you both to Ather, and what was the mindset when you joined?* Anurag: How did you shift from digital design to vehicles?* Harish: What tech foundations were critical for building the ecosystem?* How did you imagine a new dashboard UX and navigation system?* What challenges came with integrating the dashboard into the scooter’s design?* Anurag: How did you design gesture interactions and Ather’s sonic identity?* Harish: What were the Linux limitations and how did you test with OTA updates?* How did a startup mindset shape Ather’s design outcomes?* With constant updates, how do you balance evolution with the original vision?* Looking back, what critical but underrated decisions shaped Ather?* What advice for young designers working across hardware and software?Reference links* Harish Kumar — https://in.linkedin.com/in/harish-kumar-b0926465* Anurag Bartarey — https://in.linkedin.com/in/anuragbartarey* Anurag’s portfolio — https://www.abartarey.com/* Ather Energy (Wikipedia) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ather_Energy* Ather 450 series (Wikipedia) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ather_450* Ather Energy (LinkedIn) — https://in.linkedin.com/company/ather-energy* Ather Energy (Instagram) — https://www.instagram.com/atherenergy/* Ep22: Understanding motorcycle design with Chetan Shedjale* Ep. 274 - Designing Trucks with Sathiya Seelan Gangaasalam This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thegyaanproject.com