SpecialGuest partners with NIO for the future of autonomy

NIO U.S.' Autonomous Vehicle Embraces A Welcoming Aesthetic and In-Car Digital Experience

Art and communication company SpecialGuest announced a collaboration with NIO U.S., a next-generation, electric and autonomous car company. Unveiled during this year's South by Southwest festival, the collaboration is a part of a larger effort for NIO to produce vehicles for U.S. consumers in 2020.

NIO tapped SpecialGuest as a key creative partner to support the design of its in-car digital experience for the U.S. market. SpecialGuest collaborated with NIO to help design and prototype NIO's user interface, user experience and soundscape, resulting in a sophisticated user experience at the intersection of utility and visual art.

"It's been a dream job, not just because we got to develop an autonomous car interface from scratch, but because the NIO team are baller designers themselves," said Aaron Duffy, Co-Founder/Creative Lead of SpecialGuest. "We became one team. We love when tech development, communication, and production experimentation all blend together. The autonomous driving experience has the potential to scare people if the design is cold or the story isn't told correctly. With NIO, we got to transcend the sci-fi concept car world and create something warm, inviting, human and even classic." SpecialGuest partnered with Midnight Commercial on tech innovation and human-computer interaction.

NIO also tapped SpecialGuest to help manifest the in-car user experience in a way SXSW attendees could experience and be moved by. The resulting creative concepts feature an immersive, simulated driving experience within an interactive car pod, which in turn is featured alongside a living room style gallery installation with the UI displayed as visual art on the walls. Together, the installation illustrates a fluidity (or commute) between home, vehicle, work, and play.

Inside the car pod, attendees interact with a novel car user interface and video driving experience, starting in manual drive before proceeding to autonomous drive. When in autonomous drive, attendees have the option to toggle between several different experiences, including Map Mode, Calls Mode, Timeline Mode, Music Mode, Movies Mode and Zen Mode.

"NIO is showcasing what digital experiences will be in a vehicle designed from the ground up for autonomy," said Alex Castellarnau, Vice President UX/UI, NIO U.S. "Our mission is to give people time back and the freedom to be everything they want to be. SpecialGuest helped us bring this core notion to an in-car experience that places people at the center."

SpecialGuest also collaborated to create an experience film expressing NIO's vision for autonomy as a way to bring your favorite spot with you wherever you go, debuted during NIO CEO Padmasree Warrior's keynote.