Create companionship through lighting interactions
Project timeline: 2021.9 - 2022.2
In 2021, with government policies favoring electric vehicles (EVs), Didi made a strategic move to enter the EV industry.
I was involved at the beginning of the project, named Mona, making major contributions to the interior strategy and design thinking of EV experiences. In the half year, I worked in car design team, closely with the design VP and another UX designer. Together, we defined a unique value proposition under the strategy of 3S: Simple, Smart, Sophisticated. We decided to move away from the traditional styling-oriented approach in transportation design, and adopted a product mindset to make Mona a digital companion for users, building long-term relationships and creating memorable experiences.
Business objectives
- Create and communicate an intelligent persona for the EV
- Enhance user-car bond and foster long-term loyalty
- Innovate and become a trend leader in the industry
Challenge
- Mona’s target consumers were value-conscious.
- The brand entered the market late, with competitors already established and consumers accustomed to common features.
A new approach to map out user-journey
The team had done intensive research, pinpointing areas for improvement on the user-journey map. After talking with purchasing managers about feasibilities and costs, I realized that simply fixing the issues competitors faced couldn’t make us win. We were at disadvantage in hardware races due to limited manufacturing experience.
Instead of tying to improve every touchpoint, I proposed a new perspective: treating experience design as an intentional presentation of a narrative. A cohesive story and holistic design could resonate more strongly, allowing us to invest in the moments with the greatest impact.
I drew inspiration from classic storytelling techniques and amusement park design. I noticed that memorable experiences often hinge on the beginning and the end. Like a well-crafted story that hooks the audience from the start, builds to a climactic peak, and ends with a callback, I suggested structuring Mona’s experience around three critical moments:
- When the user approaches the car, Mona would greet them with a friendly self-introduction.
- Inside the vehicle, Mona would join their activities, and be a supportive companion.
- As the user leaves, Mona would express reluctance to part and a warm goodbye.
This framework became the backbone of our storytelling, guiding us to develop sensory-rich interactions with the car’s exterior, interior, and the surrounding environment.
Business opportunities
- Transform the experience into a cohesive story.
- Shape the car’s identity as a living character, expressed through its appearance, scent, and behaviors.
- Carry the car’s distinctive characteristics into first-meeting and farewell interactions, and introduce joint activities throughout the journey.
The language of light
We came up with the story, “with fire in your heart and light in your eyes”, which inspired us to use light as an interactive medium. One standout idea was creating rhythmic “emojis” through animated front lighting. The team got excited into pursuing elaborate and expressive light shows.
However, after a discussion with the VP, I realized: we needed a more structured system rather than random animations. If lighting was meant to communicate, it had to function like a language — with a set of words and grammar. Our lighting system needs fundamental units of interaction, and clear guidelines to define how units worked together.
I proposed an idea to map the front lamp components to human eyes. We could create a subconscious, almost instinctive connection by mimicking rhythms of blinking, breathing, and subtle pupil movements.
From there, the team dug deeper into exploring lighting combinations and applications.
I went through multiple design iterations to strike a balance between expressive, human-like lighting and legislative requirements. The front lamp functionalities, along with various types of bulb limitations in brightness, colors and size, restrict expression patterns in practical use. For example, nighttime driving activates both DRL (daytime running lights) and beam units, meaning expressions like “crying”, which involve turning off the DRL and beam units, could only work in stationary scenarios. Expressions meant for driving scenarios, such as “focus”, were designed with minimal animations to avoid interfering with turn signal’s sliding pattern.
Inspired by the creative use of light strips on side skirts, we experimented with using light projections to convey more sophisticated personalities, such as showing care for pedestrians.
The art of being shy
The interior lighting defined the “peak” of our storytelling. I proposed three applications to create emotional resonance: racing — featuring lights that breathe in sync with heartbeats, entertaining — where lights pulse along with music rhythms, and protecting — using calm, gentle lighting to keep the driver focused.
The principle driving these ideas was to make the technology minimally disruptive. Ture smartness, I argued, isn’t about handling every request but anticipating needs before people realize them. I envisioned an ideal lighting system that engages all emissive units, such as screens, lights, and projections, adapting automatically based on prebuilt algorithms considering environment, mood, and preference settings.
I collaborated with modeling engineers to explore indirect lighting effects under different placements. The team refined the interior design further to take advantage of diffused reflections. We envisioned entry lighting patterns that would convey a consistent brand message across all future models, with a light-up sequence that gradually directs attention from the door handles to the center screens.
Impact
Due to license issues, Didi sold the solution to Xpeng for $7.4 B (US dollars). Xpeng adjusted the pricing and cut down features to target the mid-to-low-end market, priced at RMB 119,800 ($16,839). In August 2024, Xpeng unveiled under the name MONA M03, and received 30K+ orders within the first 48 hours.
Although lots of smart features were outdated by the time of release, customers still praised its smart design and affordability, particularly the perceived intelligence. Media outlets called it “Like a Tesla, but half the price”. It became surprisingly popular as young people’s first option, sparked a trend among parents buying cars for their college kids, and received very positive reviews from women buyers. The feedback suggested the success of a product-driven approach in EV design, market-proven demand for emotional and personalized experiences, and the impact of storytelling strategy.