Overview
Lynk & Co is an innovative automotive brand that blends design, technology, and sustainability. With a strong presence in China, their vehicles cater to a younger, urban demographic that values modern aesthetics, safety, and affordability. Lynk & Co tasked us with exploring how the exterior of their vehicles could be enhanced through light and sound.
Discipline
UX Design
Client
Lynk & Co
Timeframe
16 weeks in 2024
The Challenge
Looking Ahead
Operating in the competitive Chinese market, where brands such as Li Auto, NIO, and BYD set high expectations, Lynk & Co aims to cater to young, digitally savvy urban professionals.
Our challenge was to explore how exterior lighting and sound could enhance their vehicles, combining insights from current trends, market analysis, competitor activity, and more. The goal was to develop both immediate and forward-thinking concepts that would shape the next steps in the exterior experience. This meant identifying opportunities for today while also considering how vehicle usage and interaction might evolve to meet future user expectations.
Research
Decoding Culture, Cars, and Trends
To build a strong foundation for our design exploration, we conducted extensive research across multiple areas. This included benchmarking, academic studies, legal analysis, and qualitative interviews to gain a comprehensive understanding of the context.
Market & Trend Analysis
Through benchmarking, we analyzed major brands, market trends, and concept car developments within the Chinese car industry to understand the competitive landscape and technological direction. We also explored broader societal trends in China, including urbanization, lifestyle shifts, and the evolving role of cars in daily life, helping us understand the cultural influences on mobility.
In addition, we examined current literature on automotive technology, focusing on self-driving vehicles and innovations in exterior communication. This included reviewing both industry reports and academic studies on emerging solutions.
To assess legal constraints, we investigated regulations around exterior lighting and sound, reviewing publicly available legal documents and consulting internal regulatory materials provided by Lynk & Co.
Interviews
To complement our desktop research, we conducted in-depth interviews with Chinese citizens (n=5) to gain firsthand perspectives on cultural norms, lifestyle trends, and attitudes toward cars, traffic behavior, and urban mobility. These conversations provided valuable insights that further informed our understanding of user behaviors and expectations.
Insights
Emerging Trends in Mobility and Lifestyle
From the research phase, we identified several trends and opportunities for design solutions.
Societal Shifts
Megacities in China are expanding due to policies that facilitate migration and improve infrastructure. Fitness and wellness trends are rising, with outdoor activities and marathons gaining popularity in pedestrian-friendly cities.
Work culture remains hierarchical, with long hours and strict punctuality. However, younger generations prioritize work-life balance, mental well-being, and physical health. Many of the young professionals we spoke to expressed a desire to challenge traditional norms and seek greater career flexibility.
Escaping City Life
With the pressures of city life, countryside getaways are becoming a popular way to recharge. Nature retreats offer an escape from work stress, reflecting a broader shift toward wellness. Activities like clubbing and karaoke are also gaining interest, though they remain less culturally accessible to some.
Cars as Status
In China, cars are both status symbols and social hubs, used for gatherings, transport, and personal expression. However, high costs and urban restrictions limit ownership.
Consumer preferences lean towards technology, space, and comfort over engine performance. Larger or high-tech vehicles are particularly desirable, emphasizing practicality over power.
Autonomy and Its Limits
China is leading the shift toward autonomous driving, with widespread adoption expected within the next decade. However, research suggests that external communication for self-driving vehicles may not be the best path forward. While intended to improve safety and efficiency, added communication features risk creating more confusion than clarity.
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Regulatory Loophole
Strict regulations define exterior lighting on vehicles, limiting additional features. However, we identified a key exception, when the car is parked, there is greater freedom to introduce new lighting solutions.
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With these aspects in mind, we focused on enhancing the exterior experience when the car is stationary. Since the driver, often the owner, can fully experience the exterior lighting when parked, this presented the biggest opportunity and shaped our design direction.
Ideation & Concept Development
From Insights to Concepts
Ideation was a recurring activity throughout the process, allowing us to continuously conceptualize insights as new knowledge emerged. As our understanding deepened, we refined our ideation through focused prompts, exploring areas of interest and combining ideas in new ways.
Based on insights from research and ideation sessions, two main themes emerged:
‣ Arrival Experience – How the car responds to an approaching user.
‣ Social Interaction – How the car facilitates gatherings and interactions around it.
Concept Exploration
A diverse range of concepts emerged, which we grouped based on functionality and shared themes. Our goal was to develop a broad selection of ideas for evaluation, ensuring that various functions and values were represented. After multiple rounds of refinement, we narrowed the selection down to 17 distinct concepts for further exploration.
Understanding User Preferences
Instead of identifying a single best concept, the goal was to understand which qualities resonated most with users.
The evaluation was conducted using a physical board displaying the 17 concepts, each accompanied by a visualization and brief description. Participants (n=10) were asked to:
1. Select their three favorite and three least favorite concepts.
2. Discuss their choices aloud, providing reasoning and reactions.
3. Rank their top three concepts in order of preference.
4. Answer follow-up questions to provide deeper insights.
2. Discuss their choices aloud, providing reasoning and reactions.
3. Rank their top three concepts in order of preference.
4. Answer follow-up questions to provide deeper insights.
Well-received concepts were further developed, while less appreciated ones were discarded. The process resulted in two final concepts, each embodying the can most desirable qualities while minimizing less favorable aspects.
Final Designs
Lighting the Future
Below are the two final concepts, each designed to enhance the user’s exterior experience with the car.
Today’s Embrace — A Seamless Welcome
As the user approaches the car, the front and rear lights emit a soft white glow, signaling the car’s readiness. As they get closer, a wave-like light projection appears on the windshield, rear window, or side windows, dynamically responding to their position.
The wave of light follows the user’s movement around the car, reinforcing a sense of connection. When the door opens, the effect fades, and the rear lights turn red, indicating readiness to drive.
Designed for Presence & Balance
Today’s Embrace reflects shifting priorities among young professionals in China, who increasingly seek work-life balance and mental well-being. This concept reimagines the car as more than just transportation, it becomes a calming presence, a safe space to reset and regain focus. Today’s Embrace is designed to enhance daily life, starting now, while remaining very relevant in the future.
Dare to Dream — A Shared Experience
Exterior projectors, integrated into the side mirrors and number plates, allow multiple cars to create a shared visual and musical experience. The ground becomes a canvas for synchronized projections in Lynk & Co’s signature colors, enhancing the atmosphere of social gatherings. Exterior speakers allow users to play their favorite music as they enjoy their company.
A New Perspective on Leisure
Dare to Dream responds to a growing desire for fun and social connection among young people in China. Raised in a status-driven, competitive culture, this generation is increasingly seeking new experiences, whether through nightlife, outdoor adventures, or escaping the city. However, social expectations continue to be barriers to this shift. While Chinese culture may not yet be fully ready for Dare to Dream, it serves as a catalyst for change, encouraging users to embrace a more balanced and joyful lifestyle.
Impact
Challenging Assumptions
We presented our insights to Lynk & Co's HMI department at Geely Design Center in Gothenburg. Our findings not only validated the directives they had received from their Chinese counterparts, confirming trends they lacked the time and resources to explore, but also introduced new perspectives. These insights challenged assumptions about Chinese culture and car usage in several key areas, sparking reflection and fostering further discussion.
Final Thoughts
Key Takeaways and Learnings
This project explored how exterior lighting can enhance the user experience with Lynk & Co vehicles, with a focus on the cultural behaviors of young professionals in China. We developed two concepts, blending present-day needs with future possibilities.
A key insight I gained from this project was how important it is to embrace ambiguity in the design process. The brief was broad, and there was no clear starting point, which at first felt daunting. However, this pushed us to ideate early, helping to uncover areas where more research was needed and guiding the direction of the project. I also learned the value of experimenting with unconventional methods, such as testing a wide range of concepts. Even though it wasn’t the most typical approach, it turned out to be very effective.
