Kia Throws Down the Gauntlet at Milan Design Week

SeungKyu Yoon, President & CEO of Kia tours the Opposites United exhibit at Milan Design Week in April 2023.

Having reinvented itself with hot new products, Kia proves its design acument despite not showing any vehicles.

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE | April 28, 2023

The list of participants for the 2023 Milan Design Week was sure to make any fashionista’s mouth water: Armani, Dior, Hermès, Bottega Veneta, Loewe, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Versace and Kia were among the participants. Wait a minute — Kia? Really? Kia, as in rapping hamsters Kia?

Yes, that Kia.

The Kia that has rebranded itself as a mobility company rather than an automaker. Mere semantics? Perhaps. But the automaker’s presence in Milan was not as outlandish as it sounds.

Other automakers were there peddling their wares, including Audi, BMW and Maserati. But their price points are a bit North of Kia’s and more in line with the furniture and frocks on display for the well-heeled. Being a mainstream automaker, you might wonder why Kia bothered to have a presence in Italy's fashion capital. In one word: design. “I'm really grateful that the belief the company has in design, not as just a kind of a styling thing to cover engineering hard points,” said Karim Habib, executive vice president and head of Kia Global Design. “It's part of the fiber of the brand and the decision making of what type of products to do.”

Kia’s belief in design was on display at the Museo della Permanente in Milan. Its exhibit, was titled "Opposites United," which also happens to be the company’s design philosophy. Its multiple exhibition halls immerse viewers in video, music, media and sculpture, showcasing what’s intrinsic in Kia design, namely technology, nature, joy, progress and serenity. But no cars were in sight; the exhibit — two years in the making — was all meant to telegraph the brand’s design philosophy, dubbed Opposites United. “It wasn't our purpose to sell cars,” Habib said. “It was our purpose to talk about design and the creative process. Milan is the most important place to present that commitment to design, that respect for design and show the world where you stand in that conversation.”

Karim Habib, executive vice president and head of Kia Global Design, at Kia’s “Opposites United” exhibit at Milan Design Week in April.

"Opposites United" as a design mantra is a convenient shortcut for understanding how Kia’s far-flung network of designers works together.

“We have studios in the U.S., Europe, China and Korea, and obviously they all speak different languages. They all have different experiences. They all have different daily surroundings. But when you talk about opposites, that's a common denominator,” said Jochen Paesen, Kia's vice president of interior design. “And so that's as a design language, or as a design, that's actually a really nice way to have continuity.”

But extrapolating it to other forms of design does more than provide an interesting diversion; Kia is hoping to reset consumers’ view of the brand. “When people come in here, we want them to be surprised. And I think that is, for us, quite important. It makes them think of Kia in a different way. Where before they didn't even think about us, they discover that we're actually thinking much more deeply about design and creativity,” Paesen said. “We've been working on products that are coming in the next two, three, four years and they're going to be different. And it's a way to prepare people for that.” And people will need to be prepared for what’s coming, as the brand’s design is changing along with its powertrains. A recent tour of the company’s South Korean product design center revealed an automaker tackling every vehicle segment, and using a new and distinctive design language that’s different from what’s currently in showrooms. It gives the brand a voice and a uniform look, while avoiding the Russian doll syndrome — that is, using one design on different sized vehicles across the lineup. The new designs have family ties, but they aren’t slavishly identical. Best of all, the quality and execution of the design is exquisite, down to the smallest detail. “My role is to try and give a direction for the team to work with," Habib said. "Different brands have different possibilities. If you're a very traditional brand, if you have a strong heritage, maybe that bandwidth can be or must be a narrower. For us, it had to be pretty wide, so it really depends.” But Habib’s hand and management’s embrace of design has been fruitful for the company, as new products such as the Kia EV6 and Kia Telluride have been huge successes. “The key is that commitment to design in companies like ours," Habib said. "The impact that design can have on the perception of your brand and the product is now more fully understood."