Kia AI Assistant
2025
In a world increasingly congested with chattering AI assistants, it takes a distinct design language and sharp functionality to stand out. Partnering with the Kia brand team, we built the identity of the next-generation AI assistant for their latest lineup of vehicles.
The need for a new assistant emerged alongside the comprehensive Kia brand overhaul in 2021, marking a pivotal moment of transformation for the company.
The design of the new assistant was intrinsically linked to this rebrand, not only in its form factor and visual language, but also in its strategic positioning within the larger Kia ecosystem.
This wasn’t just a product redesign, but a holistic evolution, ensuring the assistant embodied Kia’s new identity, values, and vision.
We leveraged the principles of Kia’s design philosophy, “Opposites United,” which focuses on bringing together engineering and nature to develop the future of human mobility.
Kia's vision for the future finds harmony in contrast, merging organic, natural qualities with the precision of technology.
The assistant’s design was conceived as a living system, one that unfolds naturally across every touchpoint from OOH campaigns to digital products like the app, website, and chatbot. We built a flexible framework capable of maintaining a cohesive personality while adapting to each platform’s unique needs.
Not only does the assistant move naturally, it moves like us. Animation introduced a human layer to the assistant’s design with subtle gestures, responsive movement, and expressive timing that makes interactions feel natural, empathetic, and connected.
We developed an extremely thorough design playbook and guidelines that Kia’s internal teams can reference to ensure the assistant is applied consistently across all markets and applications. The system is built to scale, adapting seamlessly to future needs and diverse use cases.
Before arriving at the final design system, we went through an extensive exploratory phase.
Through multiple rounds of client interactions, meetings, and workshops, we explored a wide range of possibilities — many of which didn’t make the final cut, but deeply enriched the process and helped shape a stronger, more intentional outcome.
Projects like this remind us why we do what we do, flexing our muscles across brand, strategy, creative technology, animation, and design to create expressive visuals and leverage our technical skills. Together with Kia, we pushed boundaries to create something that feels both intentional and intuitive. The assistant isn’t just a tool inside a car. It’s the voice of a brand in motion.
BUCK
Creative Lead
Diego Morales
Gosha Kuznetsov
Production Lead
HJ Kim
Rebecca Park
Production
Alex dos Santos
Celine Nguyen
Jennifer Mochinski
Strategy Lead
Tina Surelia
Strategy
Cole Hammack
Lisa Lokshina
Animation Lead
Jacky Jackson
Lauren Tom
Design & Animation
Adam Smith
Andy Hahn
Brooke Pathakis
João Lavieri
Kyle Griggs
Lisa Kim
Morad Enayet
Seba Morales
Terence Ginja-Martinho
Tinghe Yang
Guidelines
Devin Mathews
Emilia Tonello
Oversight
Luisa Murray
Marla Moore
Michelle Higa Fox
Additional Support
Asia Hunt
Brooke Kessler
Cameron Browning
Charlie Whitney
Dave Evans
Eric Chang
Fabian Morison
Gunnar Pettersson
Kirin Robinson
Madison Caprara
Matthew Kam
Nick Petley
Ryoko Kondo
Sam Snyder
Sarah Krohn
Sejin Park
Taylor Griggs
Vicky Chong
Zack Williams
Special Thanks
Alex Dingfelder
Ashley Domondon
Bill Dorais
Erin Lockard
Jose Fuentes
Justin Cone
Leah Grier
Marshal Rollins
Peter Kallstrom
Talia Lamdan
Talia Mazzarella
BUCK
Creative Lead
Diego Morales
Gosha Kuznetsov
Philip Sierzega
Production Lead
HJ Kim
Rebecca Park
Production
Wolfgang Schiavo
3D
Jacky Jackson
Edit
Dave Conte
Talia Mazzarella
VO
Erin Lockard
Copy
Emma Howcroft
Comms
Alex Anton
Hannah Graf
Tarley Jordan
Oversight
Justin Cone
Luisa Murray
Michelle Higa Fox
Music
Composer
Graham Barton Wakeman
