For over a decade, our global creative agency, Forpeople, has been deeply embedded in the Chinese market. From this experience, we’ve seen shifts that are setting new standards in consumer expectation, which matter not only in China but increasingly in markets everywhere.
These aren’t abstract theories, they’re lessons we’ve learned first-hand with brands like Nio, InterContinental Hotels Group and Huawei, designing with and for Chinese clients in categories as varied as electric vehicles, technology, and luxury hospitality. It is our hope these can be used to show what global firms are doing to create work in China that can be appreciated locally.
Here are just some of our ongoing learnings:
1. Premium is now about personal experience
In China, premium is no longer about owning expensive goods. We’ve seen that premium is becoming more about experiences that are personal, seamless, and unique. Younger consumers in particular are directing their spending towards lifestyle moments rather than material display.
A premium brand in China is now expected to deliver consistent, exceptional quality at every touchpoint from product to after-sales. A case in point would be Nio, the electric vehicle brand, who have used this “end-to-end excellence” as a central tenet to their growth strategy. Buying a Nio is not only about the car, it brings access to Nio Houses, club-like spaces for members to work, meet, or relax.
The brand’s “Know Me” experience principle means anticipating needs at every touchpoint, whether through an AI companion in the car or a warm welcome in-store. As one of their leaders put it: “The higher the premium, the higher the experience has to be for users.”
Other industries show the same pattern. In Huawei’s premium foldable phones, the emphasis moved from rare materials towards the uses a folding form could unlock from multitasking to content creation. At Regent Hotels, a stay isn’t just a stay, it can be a treasure hunt of meaning. Local myths and symbols are tucked into the wallpaper, slipped under envelopes, even hidden in umbrellas. Guests stumble upon them the way you’d discover a secret level in a video game, each detail revealing another layer of story, another layer of meaning.
Meanwhile, fashion labels are opening experiences such as pop-up cafés and thereby letting a playful side shine that is less about moving product than to give young consumers a reason to share the moment.
We believe there’s a clear lesson here for those wishing to engage in China’s premium market, and that is to be judged not just by your goods, but by the ecosystem of experiences that you surround those goods with, such as services, community, and storytelling.
2. Between maximalism and minimalism
China’s design landscape is marked by a fascinating balance between exuberance and restraint - and this feeling of whiplash in action is part of what makes it so compelling.
On one hand, expressive maximalism in full colour: bold palettes, layered symbolism, and immersive storytelling. In luxury hospitality, we’ve seen dining experiences where food is paired with spectacle such as live art, music or theatre, and where indulgent moments elevate a meal into a memory.
But running alongside this is a deep appreciation of minimalist elegance. This approach brings clarity and character to a space often full of information. Younger, and often tech-savvy consumers, are, as we observe, gravitating toward interfaces and products that strip away the clutter, that are clean and minimal (and certainly not maximalist), with designs that aim to produce feelings of calm and consideration.
One example where we’ve tried to incorporate this minimalist approach is in our work on Firefly’s in-car digital experience. The brand’s design DNA ('Solid, Vivid, Thoughtful') shaped a visual system for the UI that feels simple yet distinctive. The challenge was to build a graphical hierarchy that declutters and reduces density, showing only what’s essential when it’s needed, while still retaining character and youthful energy. This minimal approach resonates strongly with younger, tech-savvy drivers, ensuring a technology-rich vehicle feels effortlessly intuitive. Our agencywas not responsible for executing the final UI but helped shape the system. The principles remain a good example of how minimalism can carry personality as well as clarity.
For designers, the real magic here lies in working with the many different shades of premium, it can be a dynamic and creatively challenging/inspiring space. For us, working with cross-cultural teams has been essential to striking that balance. The bigger lesson? In China, innovation doesn’t have to choose sides. It can honour tradition while still breaking new ground, and duality itself becomes a design strength.
3. People-centric innovation
Another striking difference in China is the pace and openness of innovation. Pace in adopting a “launch fast, improve later” mentality, but openness by, and this I think is one of our biggest lessons of working deeply in China, how brands put users at the centre, not only as customers but as contributors, central to the development of strategy.
Nio’s community app, for example, allows users to share feedback and ideas, which are rapidly folded back into the brand’s development. New features often launch early, then evolve in response to real-world use. This iterative “get-it-done” beta-culture mindset can be challenging for perfectionist designers, but it ensures solutions grow directly with their users. And as a by-product, creates deep loyalty in consumers.
Co-creation also runs deep. During one product launch for Nio subbrand Firefly, and in an action that might send certain brand directors running for the hills, Nio encouraged fans to create their own AI-generated interpretations of the brand, a gesture of trust and connection that sparked extraordinary engagement.
The lesson here is that innovation also means responsiveness. Being willing to listen, iterate and even relinquish some creative control builds loyalty as well as relevance.
So embedded is this culture, that we would suggest that new entrants to the Chinese market should start by honestly asking themselves how far they are willing to go to put the user at the centre.
4. Implications beyond China
What we’ve observed in China is not confined to one market. Increasingly, the standards set there are influencing global expectations.
For global brands, the takeaway is straightforward if trying to read China’s cultural currents: premium today is defined by experience-first ecosystems that extend beyond the product. It’s about personalisation and recognition, design that can flex between maximalist exuberance and minimalist elegance, and innovation that is fast, participatory, and user-led. It’s also about a culture that is dynamic, with many different shades of premium, leading to a freer, more forward looking sector.
Just as importantly, it’s about humility. As a global firm working in China, we’ve had to unlearn assumptions and adapt to a culture that moves at extraordinary speed, one that can leave many western firms struggling to keep pace.
China is no longer a follower of global design standards but is increasingly a leader, which will impact standards globally. Any brand hoping to thrive in today’s China must act on these insights: build experiences that go beyond products, embrace cultural duality in design, and trust your users to help shape the future.
James Addison (L) and George Watson (R) are creative directors at creative agency Forpeople.
