From the Car Design Review 5 yearbook: VP of exterior design Maximilian Missoni discusses Volvo’s design renaissance
I have a very product-design orientated approach to cars. I think that view is becoming more and more relevant now. You start from the purpose, from the engineering, and then translate that into an object with a lot of character, rather than sketching a shape and then trying to stretch it over a package. That’s what we all do at Volvo, and I think the cars we’re doing right now show that. They get down to the core of their message rather than having a lot of clutter.
I studied industrial design in Austria before doing my Masters in vehicle design at the RCA. As a kid I loved reading boat and yacht design magazines; they always fascinated me. My parents are architects and I found the idea of architecture in motion quite exciting. I still remember reading an article about Pininfarina in one of those magazines, about what they do and how they do it, with sketches of cars. I was deeply impressed.
From that point I started sketching and began getting more and more into cars. At school I was often sketching while studying, but somehow I always got away with it. The teachers would say, ‘Yeah, yeah, that’s Max, he’s drawing cars, that’s what he does.’ Since I always delivered, they let me do it.
This content is available to subscribers only | Sign in
Unlock exclusive design knowledge, inspiration & connection.
Knowledge
Inspiration
Billed as $194 annually
Other currencies: £149 / €179 annually
Available to new subscribers only
Knowledge
Inspiration
Connection
Billed as $259 annually
Other currencies: £199 / €239 annually
Knowledge
Inspiration
Connection
Billed as $389 annually
Other currencies: £299 / €359 annually
Explore more subscription options.
For help with individual user subscriptions please contact:
Eric Ng
Eric.Ng@ultimamedia.com
For help with multi user subscriptions please contact:
Freya English
Freya.English@cardesignnews.com
From Car Design Review 6, comes our interview with GAC VP and head of design, Fan Zhang.
The illustrious career of a GM design legend, in his own words
The last of our interviews from CDR5 features Chang An’s design chief
