JiYue Car - Transforming the In-Store Experience with Digital Innovation

Transforming the In-Store Experience with Digital Innovation

JiYue Auto (formerly JIDU Auto) is an electric car manufacturer founded in 2021 as a collaboration between Baidu, China’s leading search engine, and Geely, an electric vehicle powerhouse.

We were asked to bring to life their first flagship store located at a shopping plaza SanLiTun, Beijing. Our mission was to provide JiYue an entire in-store digital journey online x offline connected experience for the SanLiTun flagship and its WeChat mini program, partnering with spatial design agency Gensler.

The space: 2 floors, 436sqm in total

The team: collaboration between APAC team and EU team.

Time

Aug 2022 – Feb 2023

Services

Team leadership
Creative conceptualisation
Wireframe & prototype
Visual direction & UI

Bring human and AI together

JiYue positions itself as a pioneer of the third generation of cars. While the first generation focused on traditional vehicles and the second on electric ones, JiYue’s innovation is the ROBOCAR – a transformative driving experience where the car learns from the driver over time, adapting to mirror their unique driving style. A car that evolves with its driver, learning from their habits to offer an unparalleled autonomous experience.

This led us to reconsider the traditional concept of human-machine relationship, which often implies a “human vs. machine” dynamic. JiYue’s vision pushes beyond that, fostering a relationship where human and machine collaborate seamlessly. We want JiYue’s first flagship store to be the place where people could experience this new human-machine interactivity for the first time ever.

My role

I led the creative direction and design strategy, steering the project from its conceptualization through to execution. This involved not just crafting a compelling vision but also coordinating closely with both APAC and EU teams to ensure global cohesion. I played a hands-on role in developing the online-to-offline (O2O) interactions, creating comprehensive user journey maps, and incorporating ergonomic insights to enhance in-store engagements.

Gamification

Inspired by JiYue’s ROBOCAR philosophy, we envisioned the store as more than just a showroom—it would embody its own consciousness and soul.

Fans of JiYue are invited to embark on a journey of self-discovery, awakening their Roboself, a digital reflection of their enhanced capabilities. The flagship store, or Roboverse, is where these Roboselves come to life. Visitors can engage with interactive displays and experience JiYue’s debut vehicle – JiYue 01, while their Roboself syncs with the ‘Mother Robot.’ This creates an immersive bond where human and machine connect seamlessly.

To amplify the gamified experience, we integrated these concepts into the interface design. Users can access their avatar home to view their Roboself’s attributes and customize wearables. A detailed floor map guides them through various interactive missions, ensuring a dynamic and engaging store experience.

Fig: Gamification concept wireframe, Avatar home page and Mission map

We have pinpoint five key digital touchpoints within the store where visitors could enhance their experience. Each one was carefully selected to blend the digital with the physical without disrupting the natural flow of their visit.

Fig: Selected key in-store moments to complete the storytelling

Seemless O2O integration

The flagship store and JiYue’s WeChat mini program were interconnected, creating a dual entry point. Whether online or offline, the experiences fed into each other, attracting foot traffic to the store and increasing engagement with the mini program.

We carefully selected key moments to bring the 2 dimensions together, focusing on enriching and engaging, rather than overwhelming the visitor journey, since we don’t disturb the store visit.

In our concept stage, we have mapped out how different touch points would interact and compliment each other.

Fig: Selected key moments & Online-2-Offline interaction mapping

Fig: Touch points mapping

Since the store features floor-to-ceiling sized screens, we took human ergonomics of Chinese people’s physique and behaviour into considerations, making sure of comfort and accessibility in every interaction.

Fig: Ergonomics consideration

User journey map

While the creative concept need to be fancy, the actual realization needs to take all situations into consideration. What if visitors come here without an avatar? How long is the waiting line to meet your Roboself? What if they created an avatar halfway during their visit? What if they don’t have enough points to burn? What if they visit the store again? All these ‘edge’ scenarios were considered carefully as well.

Fig: User journey map for all scenarios

Futuristic visual design

To fit into JiYue’s futurisitic Robocar atmosphere, we have embedded and magnified the details of the car to apply to the UI.

The Pixel – symbolic of their data-first, AI-driven approach – was central to both the physical and digital design, amplified by the use of their signature AI purple that represent technological intelligence.

Fig: Visual direction