“Design of the NIO FireFly”: An Interview with Kris Tomasson, Senior Vice President of Design at NIO

The visionary designer behind NIO

Osamu Namba (hereafter referred to as Namba): First, could you tell us about your background?

Kris Tomasson (hereafter referred to as Mr. Tomasson): I’ve been working as a designer since 1992. My career began at BMW headquarters in Munich. After graduating from ArtCenter College of Design, BMW was my first job, where I worked as an exterior designer. I was involved in a variety of projects there for about seven years.

One particularly memorable project was the “C1” — a roofed scooter, which was quite a unique vehicle for BMW at the time. My design was selected for that project, and I saw it through to production. It was an unusual way to start a career as a car designer, but in hindsight, I think it marked the beginning of what has become a very diverse and exploratory path for me.

After that, I wanted to expand my experience beyond automotive design and get into product design, so I left BMW and joined a design firm called Frog Design. There, I worked not only on automotive projects but also on products like Nike eyewear and a variety of consumer goods. It was during the dot-com era, so I also designed many electronic devices like MP3 players.

Eventually, I returned to the automotive world and in 2001 joined a studio in London called “Ingeni.” It was a unique studio that focused equally on car design and product design, which gave me a great opportunity to deepen my understanding of branding. At the time, we were working with all five brands under Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, and I learned a great deal about brand identity and brand strategy. I also absorbed a lot from Jay Mays during that period.

After that, I worked at Ford’s Advanced Concept Studio in Irvine, California, where I was involved in designing around 11 show cars. This experience further deepened my thinking about branding, advanced design, and product design.

Later, I moved to a New York-based company specializing in innovation and branding. All of our clients were Fortune 500 companies, and every project had a contract value of over a million dollars. Even there, I had the chance to work on automotive-related projects—for example, I was involved in the revival of the De Tomaso brand, handling vehicle design and brand development. Pepsi was also one of our clients, and I worked on packaging design for them as well.

Through that experience, I was then headhunted by Coca-Cola to become their Global Design Director. From the perspective of the automotive industry, it may have seemed like a very unusual move—but for me, it was an incredibly exciting challenge. Coca-Cola is one of the world’s largest brands, and I learned a great deal from that environment.

At Coca-Cola, I worked in areas I had never tackled before, such as graphic design, UI design, and retail presentation. I gained a much deeper understanding of how to connect design and branding. Looking back now, even when people around me questioned, “Why Coca-Cola?”, I can truly say I’m glad I did it.

After that, I moved to Gulfstream Aerospace and served as Design Director for business jets. There, I worked on the G650, a super high-end aircraft priced at around $69 million. I learned what true luxury means, and how vital it is to deeply understand the user. Compared to the automotive world, it was a realm of truly uncompromising expectations.

Eventually, I returned to BMW and became Head of Exterior Design for BMW i, and from there, I encountered NIO. At that time, the name “NIO” didn’t even exist yet. The first person I met was the current chairman, William Li. He wasn’t just looking for a car designer—he was looking for someone who could create a brand from a much broader perspective. He understood the value of Coca-Cola and wanted to build a brand that would create an emotional connection with its users.

What he wanted to create wasn’t just a car—it was an “ecosystem” that integrated design, user experience, and branding as a whole. That’s why, from the very beginning, I’ve been involved in everything—from designing the logo and brand visuals to the vehicles themselves.

Ten years ago, I was in charge of launching the Munich studio. At the time, we had no team, no office, not even computers—it was truly starting from scratch.
We began very gradually. Our first interview took place in a café in Munich. After that, we secured a temporary space, and over the course of about six months, we started recruiting a team. We worked on the design of the EP9 (the sports car), the first-generation ES8 (SUV), the brand identity, the logo, and even the furniture for our office. It was an incredibly busy first year—and now, it’s already been ten years since then.

One of the key reasons for NIO’s success, I believe, is that we placed design at the heart of the company and built the brand from a very holistic perspective.
Being able to apply everything I had learned throughout my career to a single project like this has been an extraordinary opportunity for me as a designer.

And now, in addition to NIO, we’ve also been able to launch a completely new brand from scratch—Firefly.
Opportunities to design a brand from the ground up are extremely rare. It’s truly been an amazing journey for me.

A Dream Job: Designing the Business

Namba: So, the NIO logo was also your work?

Mr. Tomasson: Yes, and actually the name “NIO” as well. When I first joined the company, it was still called “NextEV.” But that was just a temporary name—it was later officially changed.

Namba: What is the meaning behind the logo?

Mr. Tomasson: In Chinese, “NIO” is written as “蔚来” (Weilai), which means “blue sky is coming.”
The logo itself is based on the idea of a horizon. The upper part represents the sky—the “blue sky,” which symbolizes our vision. The lower part represents the road—a path to action. We’re a company that not only envisions the future but also takes real steps to make it happen. It’s not just about ideas—it’s about action.

If you ever visit our Munich studio, you’ll see a poster with 1,022 variations of the logo lined up.
What I was aiming for was a logo that not only looks good on a car, but also stands out in digital contexts and on signage—something clear, modern, and graphically strong.

At NIO, I’ve always held design quality to a very high standard.
And that applies not just to the cars themselves, but also to the logo, the typography, and the entire corporate identity. I believe that level of design quality should be consistent throughout everything we create.

Namba: Companies like NIO, and other newly emerging ones in China, are quite different in origin from traditional automakers—whether they’re state-run in China, or established players in Europe, Japan, or the U.S.
As you mentioned earlier, it seems that they’re not just focused on “building cars,” but rather on “creating a new world.” That’s likely one of the things that attracted you to the project, wasn’t it?

Mr. Tomasson: When I spoke with William, I felt right away—this was truly a dream job.
Being asked to build a car brand from the ground up, starting from a completely blank slate—that kind of opportunity is every designer’s ideal.
Of course, there were risks. It was a new company, and a lot of things were uncertain.
But for me, the challenge was just too compelling to pass up. It was the kind of project I had to take on.

On top of that, it became very clear through our conversations how much William valued design. I could tell that, for him, design was not just important—it was essential to the success of the company. That was another major reason why I decided to join.

I was one of the very first members brought into NIO — I think I was among the initial group of twelve people.

What is your true goal? Stay focused on yourself, and strive to become one of a kind.

Namba: So from there, I assume you began building the car itself. But it’s also true that there are critics who say many new brands—especially startups—still lack a clear sense of originality. Of course, design is crucial in brand-building, but I believe what’s also needed is a kind of instant recognizability—something that sets the brand apart at first glance.

Particularly with some of the new Chinese brands, I’ve heard comments suggesting that their originality might be a bit lacking. What are your thoughts on that?

Mr, Tomasson: Yes, for me, the most important thing—above all—is to understand the brand.
If you can truly understand what the brand is trying to communicate, the appropriate design direction will naturally follow. That’s the first and most essential step.

Design, in a way, is like a language. What kind of message does the brand want to send? In what tone? Should it look sporty? Or aggressive? These kinds of questions are where design begins.

At NIO, we’ve established our own set of brand principles and values. We are very intentional about how we express them, and what kind of design language reflects those values. That clarity is absolutely critical, in my view.

Another important point is: don’t always focus on the competition.
If you want to be original, you can’t constantly be looking around at what others are doing.
Instead, you need to focus inward—on yourselves.

Ask: What do we want to do? What truly matters to this company?
How can we become not just different, but truly one of a kind?
To me, constantly holding onto those kinds of questions is what really matters.

Namba: Established automotive brands often have such a strong identity that you can recognize them just by the “face” of the car.
Since I wasn’t very familiar with Chinese brands until recently, I’ve found it hard to tell some of the cars apart just by looking at them.
I’m curious how you approached that issue of brand recognizability.

Mr. Tomasson: When it comes to the “face” of a vehicle, the identity of the front end is typically made up of three key elements: the lights, the grille, and the overall shape and form. These three components combine to create the car’s facial identity. In the world of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, over time, the grille became the dominant design feature. BMW, Audi, Mercedes—you can often recognize each brand immediately just by looking at the grille.

But with EVs, the grille as we’ve known it essentially disappears. So for me, that left the other two—form and lighting—as the main elements to focus on. And those two have become the most important design components for our brand.
At NIO, we’ve made the shark nose a key feature. If you look at the car from above, you’ll see that the plan view is quite sharp and angular. And at the front, we’ve introduced a double-dash signature for the daytime running lights (DRLs).

My strategy was to make these elements—the shark nose, the sharp form, and the double-dash lighting—as iconic as possible, emphasizing them more than anything else. That became the core approach in defining NIO’s front-end identity. And it’s exactly the same for Firefly.

Namba: Firefly makes a strong impression with its three-lamp layout at both the front and rear. Where did that idea come from?

Mr. Tomasson: As we were developing a new front-end identity, we started to notice that many of the designs were beginning to look similar. People would say, “This looks like that other car,” or “Maybe this feels too much like NIO.” But our goal was to establish Firefly as a completely independent brand.

So I went back to the fundamentals. I asked myself, “Can we create a car face that anyone—from children to the elderly—can instantly recognize?” That became the design brief I set for myself.

From that point, the idea emerged: return to something simple and iconic.
That’s how we arrived at the concept of “three” lights. It felt fresh—something we hadn’t really seen before. After all, cars don’t typically have a trio of lights in their design.
But the number “three” also carries symbolic meaning. Think of the Three Musketeers, the Holy Trinity, or even a three-legged stool—the number three often symbolizes balance and unity. I thought, what if we could turn that into a visual icon? That could be really compelling.

An icon isn’t just decorative. It’s not just about building a car—it’s about generating brand identity from the car. And once we brought that concept to life, it sparked a lot of interest. People were talking about it, and that was the most rewarding part.

Those three lights—everyone notices them. Of course, some people love them, and some don’t. There are all kinds of opinions online. But the fact that people recognize it—that’s what really matters.

Namba: The name “Firefly” is also very unique and memorable.

Mr. Tomasson: When I first received the project brief from our CEO, he simply said, “I want to create a small electric vehicle.” The moment I heard that, I immediately responded, “Firefly.” And he said, “I like that—let’s go with it.”

From that moment on, everything about the project began to revolve around the idea of “Firefly” — in other words, light. The firefly itself is a symbol of light. So it made perfect sense for “light” to become the central theme in the design as well. This isn’t just a small EV—it’s a vehicle built around a metaphor of light. Once we started thinking in those terms, everything flowed very naturally.

Shaping Firefly

Namba: So Firefly is positioned as a brand distinct from NIO?

Mr. Tomasson: That’s right. We’re currently launching a new brand called ONVO, which targets the mid-range and family segments—somewhat different from NIO’s premium direction. Then we have Firefly, which is positioned as a premium yet compact and smart electric vehicle.

Namba: Firefly is surprisingly tall, but its overall length and width are quite compact.
It also has a very different presence from earlier, more luxurious models. Were there any challenges or difficult points in designing a car like this?

Mr. Tomasson: Yes, absolutely. For this project, we actually started from the interior.
Our top priority was ensuring a well-utilized cabin space.

As you know, good car design always comes down to proportions. We put a lot of thought into wheel size, placement, and surface graphics to avoid making the body feel heavy.
That’s especially important for a package like this one, with a slightly taller overall height.

We also drew inspiration from small European cars of the 1950s and ’60s—what you might call the “golden age” of compact vehicles. Cars from that era, though small, often had slightly elevated front ends and carried a strong presence. Just because a car is small doesn’t mean it should look weak. On the contrary, we wanted to convey a sense of substanceand reassurance.

That’s why Firefly features a relatively upright design. It’s a form that subtly evokes classics like the original MINI or Fiat 500—compact, but confident in its stance.

Namba: I noticed how the blacked-out section from the A-pillar to the roof, combined with the thick black side sills, cleverly minimizes the perception of height. It’s a smart design trick.

Mr. Tomasson: Yes, we incorporated several design techniques like that.
For example, by slightly raising the rocker panels—the lower part of the side body—we’re able to visually compress the overall height and make the body feel more compact.
At the same time, we wanted the interior to feel as open and expansive as possible, to create a sense of spaciousness and lightness inside.

NIO Design DNA _ Four Core Principles

Mr. Tomasson: What we’ve been aiming for at NIO and Firefly is to remove as much subjectivity from the design process as possible. In other words, instead of going with what just “looks cool,” we evaluate based on clearly established design principles.

By using those principles as a kind of measuring stick, we can constantly check whether we’re moving in the right direction. In the case of NIO, our core design values are: [Pure], [Human], [Progressive], and [Sophisticated]

Namba: I imagine NIO will continue to create new products in the future—but I do hope those four points remain at the core.

Mr. Tomasson: Our DNA isn’t tied to any specific shape or visual element—it exists on a more philosophical level. Those four design principles I just mentioned represent the core values of NIO. As long as we stay true to them, the form itself can evolve—and that’s fine.
Our philosophy is not to be bound by a particular shape, but to stay faithful to the essence.

Namba: In interviews like this, I always ask about the relationship between management and design. Generally speaking, I feel design is often undervalued by executive leadership.
In many companies, there’s a clear distance between the executives and the design department. But in NIO’s case, I sense that the close relationship between William and yourself is a major reason the brand feels so coherent.

Mr. Tomasson: At NIO, our philosophy is Driven by Design. Design is treated as a top priority. And what’s important is that I report directly to the CEO. In other words, the design division is structured to report straight to the top.

AI in the Design Development Process

Namba: That sounds ideal. If I may shift the topic a little—Chris, what are your thoughts on the use of AI in the design development process?

Mr. Tomasson: I see AI as having two distinct aspects.
The first is AI as a tool for generating inspiration. I have no problem with that.
Asking a designer to do an idea sketch and asking a computer to generate an idea aren’t fundamentally that different—and in some cases, AI can even do it faster.
In that sense, I have no resistance to using AI as a creative tool.

But what I think will become even more important moving forward is looking at AI not just as a design tool, but as an interaction tool for enhancing the user experience.
For example: How will AI transform the in-car experience in the future?
What will user interfaces look like? Do we still need physical seat adjustment switches?
How will operations and interactions within the car evolve with AI? These are the kinds of questions that will become central to design thinking as a driver of future innovation.

In short, AI has two key roles: supporting creativity and transforming the user experience.

A Message to the Designers Who Will Shape the Future

Namba: One final question. What advice would you give to young people who aspire to become designers? What should they study or focus on?

Mr. Tomasson: What I’d like to say is—always keep a broad perspective.
Just because you’re designing cars doesn’t mean you should focus only on cars. Seek inspiration from other industries, even from completely unrelated fields.
I believe great designers are those who can draw on all kinds of life experiences and apply them to problem-solving and design. When you narrow your focus too much—on just one thing—you risk losing the very essence of what makes you a designer.

Also, I always remind myself of the principle: “Less is more.” It’s a philosophy I truly believe in, and one I think every designer should carry with them.

Namba : Kris, Yoshizawa—thank you both very much for your time today.

※Toshihiko Yoshizawa
Head of Design Studio(3) at NIO Shanghai
Studied automotive design at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies (CCS). He began his career in 1996 at an Austrian design firm before joining Volkswagen Design in 2005, where he led numerous interior design projects for the Chinese market. This path led him to a Shanghai-based EV startup in 2018. Recruited by Kris Tomasson, Yoshizawa joined NIO Design in 2021. Deeply inspired by NIO’s vision and design philosophy, he embraced the opportunity and continues to be a key contributor to the company’s success.

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