You might call this AI behavior flat-out stupid, but it was actually an unfair request, as it seems impossible to articulate a brand’s design philosophy. Sure, AI can identify and recite the key words that have already been officially announced, but explaining them is something closer to a mirage. Even our own human minds often go blank when faced with the same question. To be honest, it would be all the more frightening if AI could summarize Kia’s design philosophy smoothly. By the same token, any philosophy that can be explained in one single way has no real substance to it; there is no scalability in it, either. As a design thinker, creativity is locked down, and as a design viewer, it is predictable and no longer interesting. In fact, I am grateful that AI makes mistakes. If a design philosophy cannot be described using smart language, there is only one way to understand it, which is to experience it through your senses—that is why we created a design manifesto video with a non-straightforward narrative and a variety of visual elements. In the same context, a number of iconic objects carefully appeared in the Kia Pavilion at the Gwangju Design Biennale in 2021. In line with this, last year’s exhibition regarding Kia’s design philosophy at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) created a synaesthetic experience of Opposites United and its five pillars.

This year, those efforts fully blossomed in Milan, Italy. For the first time, Kia participated by itself and presented its own exhibition at Milan Design Week, one of the world’s most noteworthy design festivals. Taking the exhibition concept from DDP to the next level, Kia presented itself to the public through the Opposites United Artwork Exhibition. But why an artwork exhibition? “We used the word ‘artwork,’ but that didn’t mean we were creating art. Artists are awe-inspiring people, so we thought it would be arrogant to approach it with the intention of creating artwork. What we wanted was for the exhibition to be a medium for the message of Kia’s design philosophy. We wanted to create a space where we could communicate with the locals open-mindedly, receive a wide range of feedback, and rethink what attitude we should have towards design at the Kia Design Center in the future,” said Han Hyunsoo, head of the Kia Design Strategy Team, the group responsible for presenting Kia’s design philosophy in a synaesthetic way through the Kia Pavilion at the Gwangju Design Biennale in 2021, the Kia design philosophy exhibition at DDP in 2022, and the Milan exhibition this year.

The Milan exhibition featured the five pillars of Kia’s design philosophy—Technology for Life, Bold for Nature, Joy for Reason, Power to Progress, and Tension for Serenity—in independent pavilions, and was completed with the Opposites Lobby and Opposites Lounge at the front and back of those pavilions. The Opposites Lobby, the first part of the exhibition, tells the underlying story of Kia’s design philosophy, “Opposites United,” in a visual way, while also serving as a way to open the minds of viewers who feel it unfamiliar. “In Korea, everyone knows Kia, and we had the opportunity to showcase our design philosophy at DDP,” explained Han Hyunsoo. “But here in Milan, we’re in the middle of Europe. Not only are many people unfamiliar with Kia, but the very idea of an unfamiliar brand trying to translate its design philosophy into an exhibition can be a barrier for visitors, so we needed to establish a starting point that would help them experience and interact with the different spaces naturally, while also pointing out what Opposites United is.” Following the flow of a geometric video in black and white in the actual Opposites Lobby, the nuances of the phrase “Opposites United” could be more fully appreciated, even without verbal communication or any prior knowledge. It was a nice warm-up for the brain, in that it generated people’s interest through a minimal understanding of the topic.

The Milan exhibition further built on the concepts presented at DDP, making them more streamlined in form and content. For example, “Technology for Life” abandoned the traditional approach of tapping on the display to trigger a video, and instead let the digital media content emanating from the cube and giant display zone fully deliver the message. The “Bold for Nature” installation, with its natural layering of long stretches of fabric, became more than just a medium for projecting light, but an experience akin to exploring nature, while the artificial tree-like object, combining metal and wood in a fractal pattern, was replaced with a minimalist display format reminiscent of a water well illuminating the sky, drawing higher attention to the content. The “Joy for Reason” installation, a giant sphere in the center of the pavilion that was divided into quadrants and simultaneously playing four videos, endlessly reflected the video images in mirrors surrounding the wall and also changed its colors and visual elements to be more sensory and vivid than its earlier version. With “Power to Progress,” a show with moving lights along the wall, it retained the basic concept but simplified the innermost object into a geometric octahedron for greater immersion, while “Tension for Serenity” featured a giant display on three sides in a row, allowing the audience to blend into the epic video without any special equipment. In terms of the Opposites Lounge, which had been much talked about when installed in Seoul earlier, it also retained its infinity mirror, yet increased the quality and variety of content to enhance its Instagrammable attractiveness.

The common thread which can be detected in this series of changes is pleasure. Unlike the past, where you had to discover objects and guess their relevance to the content, the Milan exhibition was an exciting experience for visitors just to be in the space. This was reflected in the fact that the exhibition was very accessible. In the case of the DDP exhibition, you had to make a reservation in advance and then follow a guide through the six linearly connected rooms, one after another. As a result, the freedom to explore the exhibition was significantly reduced. The Milan exhibition had one more room, but it was organized in a non-linear fashion, giving each space its own independence and making it much easier for the audience to enjoy the content, even if you did not have any prior knowledge of the exhibition. I was also impressed by the scene in which the many balls on the floor in the “Joy for Reason” room reflected a variety of colors, prompting visitors to touch and tactilely play with them. As Han Hyunsoo put it, “While the exhibition conveys Kia’s design philosophy, we wanted to first and foremost create a fantastic experience for people who visit the space, regardless of age or gender. We also wanted to share the feeling of stepping off a flat surface and into another dimension. A viewing that encourages people’s interest and can be enjoyed should be preceded by the possibility of it being talked about later. If we get too focused on how well we communicate our design philosophy, we might forget about the most important thing: the audience’s reaction. So instead, we put the exhibition together with a spirit of hospitality, hoping that visitors would walk away with pleasant memories.”

The interior space was more spacious than that of many other events, with benches scattered throughout, a Kia Design Magazine corner on the second floor, a variety of chairs available for reading many different materials, and lectures and music events held at night. In retrospect, Kia’s exhibition reflected the unique Korean hospitality culture of welcoming guests and giving generously of what you have. It was the opposite with most events at Milan Design Week, where the focus was on getting in and out quickly to view something, and where they made their evaluation based around the quicker the turnover, the more successful it was. Throughout the ground floor of the exhibition, there were frequent sightings of people sitting on the floor and resting, with expressions on their face as if they had stumbled upon an oasis in the desert. Setting up the identity of the event as a space for casual enjoyment and play, while respecting the visitors and not rushing to communicate our design philosophy, definitely worked out well for us. The Museo della Permenente, where the exhibition was held, was packed with people during the exhibition despite being located slightly outside the city center. Social media and the website for Fuorisalone (the official guide to Milano Design Week 2023 events) shared a variety of photos from the Kia exhibition, mostly of people smiling brightly as if they were at an amusement park. This was clearly a sustainable way of communication, as it left a lasting impression on people who were new to an exhibition that represented Kia’s design philosophy.

Opposites United Artwork Exhibition has been shortlisted for the Fuorisalone Award. The award honors the most memorable and extraordinary examples from more than 1,000 projects that took part in the year’s Milan Design Week. A committee of experts selects the Winner, and Special Mentions of the Jury is awarded in each of the four categories: Interaction, Sustainability, Technology, and Communication. In 2023, Kia’s exhibition was the lone “mention” in the Technology category. It also took third place in the Popular Vote, which is voted on by the general public. This means that Kia satisfied both experts and visitors alike. I remember the last page of the brochure in the Museo della Permanente. At the end of it, Kia wrote: “Every installation is part of a great idea. Every installation is a promise. A promise to bring technology to life and create a memorable human experience. A promise to create solid beauty for humanity from nature, for people and with respect for materials. A promise to experience unexpected and joyful little pleasures. A promise to discover new values for further progress. A promise to seek peace by finding harmony even in chaos.” We hope that Kia’s promises at Milan will be realized step by step.