Why Kia takes so much risk in design

Those are not our words, but those of Karim Habib, Head of Global Design at Kia. Before Habib takes us where Kia wants to go, it’s essential to look at where it came from. In 1993, Kia set foot in the Netherlands with the Sephia, a down-to-earth but honest four-door sedan with which Kia did not dare to use self-developed engines. Kia purchased the machines in the front of the compact mid-sized car from Mazda, which was simply a safer route. In the car world, little is as difficult as winning a market for you with a new brand. Not at all in Europe. With a clear model range that initially only consisted of the Pride and Sephia, but which the Sportage was added from the mid-1990s, Kia profiled itself with the motto ‘Kia drives a class richer’ as a much-for-little brand that the European bargain hunter had in sight. The Koreans managed to claim a solid place in the European car market, but Kia’s ambitions were greater. Much bigger.

The Kia Sportage line is a good illustration of what steps Kia has already taken.

Kia had to and would improve step by step and patiently as it was, it took its time. From 2002, Kia focused more than ever on improving the quality of its cars and pumped the same amount of attention into making the design of its models more attractive from 2006, says Arthur Martins – Senior Vice President Global Chief Brand Officer & Chief Experience Kia officer – us at the introduction of the Kia EV9. With the first generation Rio, Kia already showed a more stylistically gifted side in 2000, but with the Cee’d that Kia launched in 2007, Kia really showed that it was a serious player in Europe. That car – especially as a Pro_Cee’d – pushed the Cerato to automotive obscurity in one fell swoop. Between 2010 and 2020, with a stable and increasingly attractively designed and expanding range of models, senior management in Seoul focused, among other things, on setting up an extensive international network of production sites and research centers. But Kia’s endless hunger was not satisfied yet, Martins explains. A new transition is underway.

According to Kia’s Chief Brand Officer, Kia has had several revolutions and is now ready for the next one.

Opposites united

From 2020 it is bubbling again at Kia, and not just in the stomach. There was a new logo and even the brand slogan ‘Power to surprise’ ended up in the trash. Why? According to Kia, consumers simply no longer found it surprising that Kia delivered quality. It became an expectation with the brand name. Power to Surprise was followed by the more progressive sounding Movement to Inspire. There was even a completely new brand identity. After all, Kia nowadays describes itself as a brand in transition from a creative car manufacturer to a service-oriented one mobility provider. But with only nice slogans, nice sounding missions and only good technology you don’t sell cars. Kia has paid too much attention to that for the past thirty years. The eye also wants something. The keywords? Opposites United.

Angular shapes alternate with softer ones.

Mazda has Kodo, Hyundai has Sensuous Sportiness and the design philosophy that has been at the basis of Kia’s designs for several years is called Opposites United. That is more than design language, because it encompasses the entire body of thought behind it. Karim Habib – on the highest throne of Kia’s design department since October 2019 – explains that Opposites United is mainly about contradictions. “Contrasts are everywhere. Think of old versus new, but also look at differences between cultures, or at the contrast between change and stability. Just because things are opposite each other doesn’t mean they can’t go together.” Habib explains that the design philosophy has five pillars on which the concept rests, each representing its own form of contrast: Joy for Reason, Technology for Life, Bold for Nature, Power to Progress and Tension for Serenity. Some of these names would not look out of place on hip perfume bottles, but they are not empty either. Under Joy for Reason, Kia understands the contrast between emotion and reason. It stands for the application of, for example, bold colors or materials to make the interior soothing. Technology for Life stands for connection between man and machine, including through the application of light and connectivity. Bold for Nature is the pillar with which Kia applies both organic and technical structures and shapes in its designs. Solid surfaces and straight lines, but also shapes and proportions that come back in nature. Without describing all the pillars in detail, it is clear how Habib de Opposites Unitedphilosophy full of contradictions brought together in all aspects of Kia’s design language. But where does it come from?

Kia’s top design boss Karim Habib is not afraid of controversial designs.

Avant-garde

Opposites United did not just spring from the brain of Karim Habib and his design teams during an afternoon of brainstorming. “Kia’s roots are in Korea. Korean culture is currently leading. Avant-garde. Just think of the K-Wave, the globally increased influence of and interest in Korean ‘pop culture’. It is playful, optimistic and focused on the future,” explains Habib. “At Kia, we are simply not afraid to take risks. To try new things. We are not afraid to make mistakes. It’s okay if something new seems unfamiliar or even uncomfortable at first. Actually it is very simple. Innovators keep trying until they come up with something new. Something that works. Kia recognizes itself in that principle. There must always be progress and we must not sit still. Those who sit still will be overtaken.”

EV6 over

With the electric EV6, Kia already broke with the past with deafening silence in 2021. The first Kia car developed in the basis as an electric model had already been drawn, according to it Opposites Unitedprinciple, but with the equally large and brand-new EV9, Kia’s design team has been held back by even fewer conventions. Anyone who found the EV6 too idiosyncratic should get their chest wet. The Kia EV9, overloaded with idiosyncratic design details, is regarded as the pioneer of a more self-assured Kia that tackles the future with even more outspoken designs. You can expect a huge hint of EV9 in those new Kias. But, are contradictions united as the design philosophy prescribes?

Teckkoun Kim – the design brain behind the EV6, Sportage and EV9.

Teckkoun Kim – Head of Kia Next Design Group and the design brain behind the EV6 and Sportage – points to a very concrete example of the Opposites Unitedconcept on the EV9, Kia’s new electric top model. “Look at the sharp triangular shapes in the body above the wheel arches. They stand out sharply against the quiet, softer-lined ‘nave’ of the EV9. An example of Opposites United. It gives the EV9 an imposing appearance. After all, it is our electric flagship and an SUV.” The fact that Kia is not afraid not to conform to current design conventions is evident from the wheels on which the EV9 is presented. They are remarkably dense and have square or triangular shapes. “We have deliberately chosen not to use traditional wheels with an x ​​number of spokes. We also take a completely different path with the front cover. A bonnet with holes and strong folds, that has become a cliché. We see that everywhere.” An equally interesting design element can be seen at the front and rear of the EV9. The headlights and taillights are made up of thicker LED parts that are connected by thinner lines. ‘Star Map’ lighting, Kia calls it. You will also see this lighting style on all future Kias to a certain extent, explains Kia’s king of the drawing board Karim Habib.

“It’s done with a black interior and you won’t find leather upholstery in the EV9 either.”

And inside?

Will Opposites United remain a party to which only the exterior is invited? No. Jochen Paesen – Vice President Interior Design at Kia – and his team have made the interior of the EV9 completely different from the exterior. Where angular shapes dominate the exterior, the interior with its rounded forms exudes a friendlier, more pleasant atmosphere. The fact that Kia also chooses its own path in the EV9 is evident from the choices Paesen has made. “It’s over and out for a completely black interior. The EV9 doesn’t get that. We opt for two-tone color schemes, which looks a lot more accessible.” According to Paesen, Kia also draws a big fat line through the use of piano lacquer. “The time of piano lacquer is over, you once saw it everywhere. But in our top model we choose not to apply that anymore. Just like leather, by the way.” Brave choices. Surely something of that seeps through to other models? “The EV9 is our top model and therefore has a kind of exemplary function.”

The Kia EV5 also promises to be a daring appearance.

Kia EV9 as a signboard

Kia seems ready for the next (design) step and it is the EV9 that symbolizes this. Global Chief Brand Officer Artur Martins calls the brand new Kia EV9 a model that plays a key role in Kia’s transformation. That transformation is closely related to Kia’s seemingly limitless ambition. Kia will market fifteen brand new EVs through 2027. It aims to become one of the largest, if not the largest EV brand in the world. In any case, the confident Kia is armed to the teeth with daring and own design and is not afraid to go its own way. Kia seems more confident than ever and the EV9 just presented is a huge sign of that. The competition has been warned.