KONE - Built to Flow
Public website renewal
YEAR
2026
CLIENT
KONE
ROLE
Digital Brand Experience Design
Website Design
Design System
KONE has been a global leader in elevators and escalators since 1910, Dedicated to People Flow™ and moving 2 billion people every day.
In line with the new “Rise” strategy and a customer-centric vision, KONE needed to rethink and redesign its website, with the ambition of setting a new benchmark for B2B digital experiences. Imagine the effortless ease of stepping onto an escalator or into an elevator — instinctive, and fluid. That’s the experience we wanted to replicate in the new website.
The concept for the website comes to life through a core element, the “adaptive dock” — enabling fluid navigation. Adaptive experiences will transform how people interact with digital interfaces, and with brands. As artificial intelligence becomes an integral part of interface design, it won’t just enhance navigation; it will redefine the entire interaction model.
People accustomed to deeply personalized and fluid experiences will see static interfaces as outdated. Innovation is no longer just about advancing technology — it’s about creating fundamentally better, future-ready user experiences and interfaces.
The website concept embodies this vision, a seamless, intelligent UX and UI that guides and supports users at every stage of their journey, delivering a holistic digital experience that extends across all KONE touchpoints — far beyond the website itself.
Working across business lines and core industry pages, we shaped content to support the main user journeys — focusing on relevance, clarity, and simplicity at every step. Content structure, language, and hierarchy were intentionally designed to help users understand the opportunities available to them and support confident decision‑making as they continue their journey with KONE, ensuring the experience flows seamlessly across the website.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
01. DIGITAL EXPERIENCE STRATEGY
02. EXPERIENCE CONCEPT DESIGN
03. DESIGN SYSTEM BUILDING
04. MVP LAUNCH
01
FROM STRATEGY TO EXPERIENCE
The design process
The 3-Month Design Process
1. Research & validation
We used AI-powered research tools alongside stakeholder and business-partner interviews to develop and validate key hypotheses.
2. Personas & journeys
Synthetic personas helped us explore different customer scenarios and journeys, creating a foundation for concept development.
3. Concept & experience design
Research insights informed concepts and wireframes, while an experience north star defined how the KONE brand should look, feel, and behave across digital touchpoints.
4. Prototype & test
Early prototypes were continuously tested and refined with stakeholders, supported by AI-powered UX tools for further design validation.
5. Design system & delivery
The final experience was delivered through key prototypes and documented in the KONE Flow Design System and Digital Brand Experience playbook, developed in close collaboration with the client and development team.
User journeys
User example:
Non-professional, Jean-Pierre
We created a set of synthetic personas representing different global regions (business frontlines) and genders to explore diverse scenarios and build user journeys. Each journey aligns with a distinct user segment — consumers, users, trade, and industry.
ean-Pierre Leclerc is a committed board member of a housing association in a historic 5-floor building in France. With an engineering background, he is dedicated to preserving the building's charm while addressing modern challenges.
Recently, Jean-Pierre has been troubled by the noisy and potentially unsafe elevator, seeking cost-effective solutions to ensure its smooth and secure operation for all residents.
We designed a tailored journey for Jean-Pierre that caters to his needs.
02
THE EXPERIENCE NORTH STAR
Built to Flow
Digital brand experience foundations
Elevating every journey with intelligent, adaptive experiences, Built to Flow, seamlessly around each user, intuitively anticipating their needs and empowering them to navigate with ease toward what matters most.
Imagine the effortless ease of stepping onto an escalator or into an elevator, effortless, instinctive, and fluid. That’s the experience we aim to replicate in KONE’s website and other digital spaces: one that intuitively moves with the user, eliminating friction and making every interaction feel as natural as the next step forward.
The website is designed to empower users at every stage of their journey by offering tailored, smart guidance, proven solutions, and future-shaping insights, all in one place.
Trust in the ride naturally grows into trust in the product, which then evolves into trust in the brand. When people don’t have to think about how they move, they move freely, and that is true flow.
Experience drivers
How the KONE brand shows up regardless of the touchpoint
The experience drivers: Sense of Flow, Sense of Life and Sense of Trust, serve as our compass when developing content and crafting experiences for any audience, across all touchpoints.
In the digital space, they enable us to create seamless, engaging, and dynamic experiences that not only fulfil functional needs but also elevate the KONE brand — ensuring it stands out as modern, innovative, and user-centric in every digital environment. Each driver shares core experience building blocks such as data usage, imagery, UX, motion, interaction, and tone of voice, yet expresses them in distinct ways to fulfill its unique purpose.
Sense of Flow
Familiar elements provide clear direction with intuitive UX, smooth navigation, and data-driven interactions that keep users moving forward effortlessly.
Sense of Life
Brings the experience to life with human-centred imagery, a warm, conversational tone, motion, and transparent, relatable data. These elements foster an emotional, engaging connection.
Sense of Trust
Builds confidence through grounded visuals, purposeful motion, honest communication, and transparent, user-controlled data, all working together to reinforce security and reliability.
03
DIGITAL EXPERIENCE CONCEPT
Introducing KONE OS
KONE OS is your adaptive navigation partner, seamlessly guiding you from the moment you arrive on the website through every step of your journey.
KONE Operative system
Our concept for the website comes to life through our core element, the adaptive dock, which enables fluid navigation and a conversational interface that provides personalized insights and suggestions from the moment you arrive.
From the moment you land on the website, the KONE OS welcomes you and guides you through a personalized journey tailored to your needs. The adaptive dock serves as your reliable co-pilot, guiding you toward your desired outcome.
It creates an immersive, engaging experience that you can manually customize at any moment, or let the adaptive dock adjust based on your profile, enabling you to explore and discover KONE products and seamlessly connect with a human agent in your region.
KONE OS goes beyond the boundaries of the website, aligning with a vision of how people will interact with digital interfaces in the future — across screens, within virtual or synthetic realities, and in physical spaces such as an elevator with a voice-activated interface.
Other elements of the KONE OS such as data-driven visuals that are both reactive and interactive, leverage live data from KONE’s connected network, deliver more accurate and precise information. This not only further elevates the brand but also builds trust.
Adaptive dock: interaction patterns
EXPLORE
Let users move freely, intuitively, and playfully through the experience. Create a sense of momentum that keeps them engaged, sparks curiosity, and opens doors to new possibilities.
Content displayed should be: inspirational, visual, and welcoming. It should feel human and emotionally engaging, crafted to invite interaction and encourage exploration at every step.
FOCUS
Guide users from open exploration to a more purposeful, guided flow. Gently invite them to share their intent or role without pressure, allowing the experience to adapt to their needs.
Content should support this transition by being contextual, relevant, and goal-driven. It should dynamically adjust based on who the user is or what they’re trying to accomplish, framing their challenges in a way that naturally connects to KONE’s solutions.
IMMERSE
Support users with a meaningful flow of content and conversations that feel personal and relevant. Every interaction should speak directly to them, creating a sense of connection and purpose throughout their journey.
Content should embody this approach: inspirational, visual, and welcoming. It must be human and emotionally engaging, carefully designed to encourage exploration and invite deeper discovery.
04
A SEAMLESS DIGITAL EXPERIENCE
KONE in digital spaces
Data Visualization
The “adaptive dock” delivers effortless guidance, personalised support — adaptive to every business line. Its conversational interface offers tailored insights from the moment users arrive on the KONE website.
The concept goes beyond the boundaries of the website, aligning with a vision of how people will interact with digital interfaces in the future: cross screens, within virtual or synthetic realities, and in physical spaces.
Data-driven visuals, draw from KONE’s connected network to deliver precise information, elevate the brand, and build trust. A monospaced version of the KONE Information font was created to be used in data-visuals.
05
LIVE EXAMPLES OF THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE
Four key flows
Coming soon
The impact
Best User Interface
Interface & User Experience Design
Best Visual Design