---
id: automotive-kia-design-en
service: Kia
website: https://www.kia.com
category: automotive
document: DESIGN.MD
source_prompt: automotive-kia-representative-en
language: en
generated: 2026-07-18
---

# Kia DESIGN.MD

> Use this DESIGN.MD as the persistent design standard before building a Automotive site or app. It can be given directly to designers, frontend engineers, AI builders, and coding agents. Kia is an information-architecture reference only.

## Purpose

- Kia: https://www.kia.com
- Automotive: vehicle discovery and ownership
- vehicles, specifications, and maintenance
- comparison, specifications, and service booking
- automotive

## Design brief

Create an original product that supports vehicle discovery and ownership. Make vehicles, specifications, and maintenance easy to scan, compare, and act on. Treat comparison, specifications, and service booking as a primary design constraint. Starting direction: immersive media · restrained premium · low information density · featured media -> horizontal content rails -> play or save -> account state · #05141F · Kia.

## Public interface design analysis

- Reference basis: These are recurring visual and structural patterns from public landing screens and representative task flows. Verify the current live capture because services change over time.
- Interface archetype: immersive media
- Tone and manner: restrained premium
- Information density: low
- Color strategy: ink-led system with limited accent color (#05141F)
- Navigation model: lightweight top navigation
- Structural sequence: featured media -> horizontal content rails -> play or save -> account state
- Reusable patterns: media hero, spec card, comparison card, quote action, service entry
- Independent application rule: Use the order and decision principles only. Do not reproduce logos, copy, imagery, icons, or proprietary screen composition.

## Screen architecture

- Global navigation with clear current location and account state
- Overview that exposes the next important action for vehicles, specifications, and maintenance
- Search, filter, sort, or segmented views only where they reduce decision cost
- Detail view that keeps context, status, evidence, and the primary action together
- Persistent help, recovery, privacy, and safety access for comparison, specifications, and service booking

## Design tokens

```css
:root {
  --color-primary: #05141F;
  --color-ink: #17201D;
  --color-canvas: #F6F8F7;
  --color-surface: #FFFFFF;
  --color-tint: #05141F22;
  --color-danger: #DC2626;
  --radius-control: 6px;
  --radius-card: 8px;
  --space-1: 4px; --space-2: 8px; --space-3: 12px;
  --space-4: 16px; --space-6: 24px; --space-8: 32px;
  --content-reading: 720px;
  --content-wide: 1280px;
}
```

## Component specifications

- Navigation: active, hover, focus, disabled, and collapsed states
- Cards and rows: stable dimensions, realistic content, metadata hierarchy, and complete click targets
- Forms: labels, descriptions, validation, error summary, progress, and recovery
- Actions: one clear primary action per region; icon buttons require accessible names and tooltips
- Feedback: inline status, toast, banner, skeleton, progress, confirmation, and destructive-action dialog

## State design

For every data-driven region, define loading, empty, partial-data, stale, error, offline, permission-denied, disabled, saving, and success states. Keep layout dimensions stable so state changes do not shift surrounding content.

## Responsive rules

- 360px: one primary column, no horizontal page scroll, 44px touch targets
- 768px: preserve context with two panes only when each pane remains readable
- 1280px and above: constrain reading width and use extra space for comparison or persistent context
- Never scale type with viewport width; wrap long labels and localize for text expansion

## Accessibility requirements

- Semantic landmarks and heading order
- Complete keyboard operation with visible focus
- WCAG AA contrast in all states
- Programmatic labels, descriptions, errors, and live regions
- 200% zoom, reduced motion, forced colors, and screen-reader verification

## Design instruction for AI builders

```text
Design an original Automotive interface for [Product name]. Its goal is vehicle discovery and ownership; its core objects are vehicles, specifications, and maintenance; its critical risk is comparison, specifications, and service booking. Use the token system and screen rules in this document. Specify realistic content, component contracts, all data states, responsive behavior, accessibility, and acceptance criteria. Do not copy Kia's logo, proprietary copy, images, or exact layout.
```

## Completion checklist

- [ ] The critical path for vehicle discovery and ownership is obvious without explanation
- [ ] vehicles, specifications, and maintenance have clear hierarchy, status, and actions
- [ ] comparison, specifications, and service booking has prevention and recovery
- [ ] Mobile, tablet, desktop, keyboard, screen reader, zoom, and reduced motion are verified
- [ ] Loading, empty, error, offline, partial, permission, and success states are complete
- [ ] No protected brand asset or pixel-level layout from Kia is reproduced