BODW 2024 Exclusive: Designing an EV with Tianyuan Li

Explore the design journey behind Xiaomi's first car — the SU7 — from concept to creation with Tianyuan Li, Head of Design Xiaomi EV & General Manager of Automotive Industrial Design Department at Beijing Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd, as he delves into Xiaomi Auto's design philosophy and innovative approach

Tianyuan Li is of the belief that automotive design should go beyond just visual appeal and to instead, start with a deep understanding of its users’ needs and emotions. He sees discovering the essence of automotive design and the core of aesthetics as essential to addressing the current trend of design homogenisation. For Li, stepping outside the boundaries of mainstream design can lead to timeless designs that stand the test of time.

Li made history in 2012 as the first Chinese designer to join BMW, where he played a key role in designing the BMW iX electric flagship SUV and helped shape a new generation of design language for the BMW i series. He also led the design of the BMW i Vision Circular concept car, which redefined the future of BMW’s digitalised kidney grille design. Plus, Li added to automotive design projects for several brands within the BMW Group, including MINI and Rolls-Royce.

After joining Xiaomi, Li successfully built a strong design team from the ground up, focusing on innovation-driven principles and a design approach centered around fusing technology with art and originating aesthetics from the human intuition. Having led the design and development of the Xiaomi SU7 and a series of other models, he is committed to supporting technological progress, enhancing international recognition and attracting overseas talent to the EV market in Mainland China.

At BODW 2024, Li gave a keynote on Xiaomi SU7’s design behind the scenes and an inside story of perhaps the most crucial of all: his team. Here is an exclusive short interview with Tianyuan Li:

What were the central principles of your keynote?

[My] speech is about the design story of Xiaomi’s first car SU7 from 0 to 1, focus[ing] on sharing the design philosophy of Xiaomi Auto: how did we determine the design direction of our first car, what methodology did we use in the design process, and what kind of team are we?

What's something the business of design world can takeaway from your keynote?

As the first product of the new brand, the design positioning of Xiaomi SU7 is… durable and intuitive; design thinking starts from the essence of things and people’s needs. Good design should be a perfect combination of technology, science and art; the strategic guidance of HUMAN X CAR X HOME makes Xiaomi cars more than just a means of transportation.

Through the intelligent ecosystem, cars become a link connecting our various life scenes; the Xiaomi car design team is a multidisciplinary team, and they are talents from the consumer electronics industry and the automotive industry. We have our own design system, which aims to return decision-making power to users and avoid subjective design thinking.

Moving forward, how can these ideas be practically achieved?

The points [afore]mentioned are already the core driving force of the design team, and of course they will continue to evolve and improve.
For example: we have established a complete design research system, which can well introduce the user’s point of view into the design process, help designers think from the perspective of [the] users [and] avoid subjective design thinking.

The premise for product design to resonate with users emotionally is that designers must go deep enough into the users’ minds. We believe that good design does not require complicated explanations. In addition, our AI tools play an important role in the design process. The construction of the cloud computing platform allows AIGC to assist in every aspect of design. It is flexible and open, which can greatly improve efficiency and allow designers to focus more on creativity and problem solving.

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