NIO 2035 Concept
A 14-week team project envisioning the cockpit experience for Nio in 2035 blending brand strategy, UX/UI innovation, and human-centered design.
Role:
Research, UI Design, Strategy
Tools:
Figma, Blender, Twinmotion, After Effects
Date:
Nov 2023
Timeline:
14 weeks
Context
In this project, we set out to explore what NIO’s cockpit experience could look like in the year 2035. With advancements in autonomy, AI, and user interface design, the goal was to create a future-forward HMI (Human-Machine Interface) that aligns with NIO’s brand philosophy while pushing the boundaries of interaction design.
This project involved extensive research, user-centered design, and storytelling to craft an experience that feels intuitive, futuristic, and distinctly NIO.
Benchmarking & Research
To establish a strong foundation, we began with an in-depth benchmarking study of different vehicles, analyzing their HMI strategies, UI trends, and interaction paradigms.
Vehicles Studied:
Tesla (Model S, Model X) – Minimalist UI, Over-the-Air updates, FSD interaction.
Rivian (R1T, R1S) – Adventure-focused UX, custom OS, large touchscreen UI.
Porsche (Macan EV, Taycan) – Driver-oriented displays, layered information architecture.
Cadillac (Lyriq, Celestiq) – High-end luxury interactions, panoramic displays.
Jeep (Grand Cherokee, Wagoneer) – Rugged UI, physical-to-digital balance.
Through this, we identified emerging trends such as panoramic displays, contextual UI, multimodal interactions, and adaptive assistants.
Brand Research
To ensure our concept felt authentic to NIO, we conducted an in-depth analysis of:
Brand Philosophy – "Blue Sky Coming," innovation-driven and user-centric.
Existing Vehicle Lineup – From the ES series to the ET7, understanding their current HMI direction.
Existing Product Lineup – NOMI, NIO House, NIO Life, and the NIO mobile application.
Positioning & Future Vision – How NIO integrates AI and seamless digital experiences.
This research set the groundwork for designing an interface that feels like an organic evolution of NIO’s ecosystem.
User Research
We envisioned a potential NIO customer in 2035 and crafted a detailed user persona.
Mapping out the user journey helped define key interaction points and potential pain points that our design would need to address.
Goals & Needs
Wants a personalized and adaptive vehicle experience.
Prefers an AI assistant that understands context and intent.
Expects a frictionless transition between personal devices and the car.
Envisioning NIO’s Future Personality
Beyond UI, we explored how NIO’s brand voice and AI assistant NOMI could evolve in 2035.
A Conversational AI with Personality: NOMI adapts not just to commands, but to emotions and contextual needs.
Minimalist, Driver-Centric UI: Information is displayed only when needed, reducing cognitive load.
Seamless Integration: Whether in manual or autonomous mode, the experience remains fluid.
This laid the foundation for defining the tone and interaction style of our cockpit UI.
Concept Ideation & Wireframing
Steering Wheel Screen – My Key Focus Area
A core part of the interaction was the steering wheel display, which I was responsible for designing.
🔹 Modes & Adaptive UI – The screen adjusts based on driving mode (Autonomous, Manual, Sport).
🔹 Touch & Haptic Feedback – Users can control navigation, media, and AI interaction through gestures.
🔹 Personalization – The display customizes itself based on driver preferences.
NOMI AI Assistant
🔹Context aware responses
🔹Gesture and voice controlled commands
🔹Emotional intelligence integration
We also explored additional UI elements, such as ambient lighting feedback, minimalistic driver displays, and fun features like Karaoke.
UI Design & Prototyping
After wireframing, we moved into visual exploration, creating:
Mood boards for visual direction
Style guide (Color, Typography, Motion)
High-fidelity UI prototypes in Figma
Our design emphasized a clean, futuristic aesthetic that balanced minimalism with emotion.
Storytelling & Final Presentation
Crafting Winnie’s Story
To bring our concept to life, we developed a narrative-driven experience, showcasing how Winnie discovers and interacts with the NIO 2035 concept.
🎬 Storyboard & Animation
I was responsible for storyboard development and creating the visual sequence.
Used Blender and Twinmotion to model and animate the concept with realistic lighting.
Integrated Figma prototypes into motion graphics using After Effects to showcase real-time interactions.
