Volvo EX30 Material explorer

EX30 phygital

A phygital in-store Car Configurator made for playful interactions of the exterior colours and interior colour material finish options of the most sustainable car from Sweden.

3 minutes

614 words

Phygital = Physical + digital experiences

See the EX30 all-electric SUV online

Volvo EX30 Material Explorer

Imagine you are the customer: one theme with one interactive RFID tile sample

Customer enters the showroom and heads to the Design Studio.
Material Explorer shows EX30 samples, glowing under LEDs, with a calming Scandinavian soundscape.
A show reel on the app invites interaction.
They pick “Flax Deco” and place it on the sensor tray.
The app asks: “Mist” or “Pine”?” — the customer chooses their vibe and the story unfolds.

Interactive interface solution for the Volvo EX30 instore release. Produced in Figma

Services & logistics

My role: Lead product designer

- UX, UI design
- Motion design
- Customer flows
- Narrative & Storyboard
- Prototyping

Tools and resource

- Figma, plugins
- Notion, Atlassian suite, Miro
- Workshops remote & in person
- Hardware tech partner, Brigo Sweden
- Learnings: Youtube, Figma

Team & stakeholders

- UX, PM, EM: Trio model
- Front end x3
- Back end x1
- Global retail operations
- Retail cluster leadership

The budget

💰 100K Euros

Estimated for the full installations in the Swedish market, including Kista, the flagship retailer for launch

Timeline

⌚️ 30 Days

Ideate, design, and build a fully working proof of concept with RFID + Raspberry Pi-enabled tech as a phygital solution

Success

📐 x1 customer lead

1 customer to interact with the custom tiles, curiously explore and convert to talk to a retailer or book a test drive

Problem statement

How might we simplify the experience of navigating the product Line and model offers, enhancing the current set-up of the Car Configurator used in dealerships and studios to the in-store environment and requirements?

The IKEA effect is a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they partially created.

User research insights

Field observations revealed that customers naturally build excitement and confidence when they can physically interact with material samples and visualise different design combinations during the vehicle-selection process. However, this momentum is often interrupted because the experience depends entirely on the staff to explain options, features, and the narrative behind each configuration. This over-reliance on retail advisors creates inconsistency, reduces autonomy, and limits the customer’s ability to explore at their own pace.

Source: In-store contextual inquiry and staff-assisted customer journey observations.

“Some customers simply want to know the price after they have made custom design choices in a quiet, simple way”

“Some customers feel a bit anxious when the price is revealed by an agent as they feel they need to respond immediately”

“Some customers don’t realise that from start to end delivery of the new car can be longer than they realise post purchase”

“Some retail agents worry about not being able to efficiently tend to all walk in customer groups”

Concept, storyboarding, wireframing

Material Explorer is a concept that aims to replace the current upholstery and sample walls in the Volvo showrooms. We created a phygital touchpoint that includes the physical assets and digital interface to bring the EX30 to life.
The storyboard narrative identified x4 core themes to delight and educate the customer and show the dimensions on the car in colour and lighting conditions.

Mood board samples from the Colour Material Finish team. Custom research to production delivery. Including sustainable materials eg Flax, Linseed, Recycled plastics and colour themes inspired by the Goteborg archipelagos.

Prototyping, high-fidelity design & technical setup

High-fidelity visuals, animations, and Volvo’s audio styles set the scene. Customers pick a glass-effect tile, place it on the sensor, and watch the EX30 come to life—themes change, variants appear, and the experience feels instantly responsive, tactile, and immersive.

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