KIA
Intro
KIA wanted to take control of how their original car accessories are sold. They needed a site that matched their visual identity and felt easy and familiar to use.
One decision made the project unusual. KIA had chosen not to sell accessories directly online. The site still needed to look and behave like e-commerce, with browsing, filtering and building a selection, and then hand the customer over to a dealership at the point where they would normally check out.
I designed the prototype and the user flow, working inside KIA’s existing category structure and visual identity.
One decision made the project unusual. KIA had chosen not to sell accessories directly online. The site still needed to look and behave like e-commerce, with browsing, filtering and building a selection, and then hand the customer over to a dealership at the point where they would normally check out.
I designed the prototype and the user flow, working inside KIA’s existing category structure and visual identity.
Challenge
Every e-commerce pattern a customer has learned points toward a purchase. Cart, quantity, checkout, confirmation. Break that chain at the last step and the moment risks feeling like a dead end. The customer has done the work of choosing and gets nothing that closes it.
The flow also needed to solve relevance before anything else. Car accessories only make sense for a specific model, and showing someone a roof rack that will not fit their car undermines trust in everything else on the page.
The flow also needed to solve relevance before anything else. Car accessories only make sense for a specific model, and showing someone a roof rack that will not fit their car undermines trust in everything else on the page.
Design
The portal is built around a vehicle selector. A customer either picks their model or types in their registration number, and from there the catalogue only contains accessories that fit their car. Browsing, comparing and deciding all happen inside that filtered view, so the experience is personalised before the first product appears.
For the last step I designed the handoff as a proper ending. The customer sends their selected accessories to their nearest dealership, which opens the sales conversation with the choice already made. The action is concrete, the outcome is clear and the customer knows what happens next. Those are the things a checkout normally provides.
For the last step I designed the handoff as a proper ending. The customer sends their selected accessories to their nearest dealership, which opens the sales conversation with the choice already made. The action is concrete, the outcome is clear and the customer knows what happens next. Those are the things a checkout normally provides.
Result
The prototype gave customers a tailored browsing experience consistent with the KIA brand. They see only what fits their vehicle and can act on a decision without leaving the site.
The lead handoff let KIA keep control of the accessory sales process, with dealerships holding the transaction, while customers got a platform that supports both exploration and decision-making.
What mattered most was that the final step reads as an ordinary next step and not as a missing checkout. That is the point where the flow departs from what customers expect, which is why it needed to feel the most familiar.
The lead handoff let KIA keep control of the accessory sales process, with dealerships holding the transaction, while customers got a platform that supports both exploration and decision-making.
What mattered most was that the final step reads as an ordinary next step and not as a missing checkout. That is the point where the flow departs from what customers expect, which is why it needed to feel the most familiar.
