Truck interiors
Function, identity and AI: Bart van Lotringen on the future of truck design
DAF Trucks' design director explains why function remains fundamental to truck design, how regulation has unlocked new creative opportunities and why AI is already changing the traditional studio
Car Design News: Commercial vehicles are fundamentally tools. How do you create something that is visually desirable without compromising the honesty and functionality that a truck needs to have?
Bart van Lotringen: The design of a truck is largely driven by its functionality. As a truck designer you are aware of this, embrace these criteria and see how you can use them to your advantage to develop a clear graphical image that is easily identifiable and that has attractive proportions and shapes.
It is a product that is viewed from quite a distance and the down-the-road graphics are very important in defining that identity. By a thorough understanding of the layout and criteria you need to lay that puzzle and create a visual that adopts this with an unique brand identity.
CDN: Truck design involves an extraordinary number of competing requirements – aerodynamics, visibility, packaging, legislation, driver comfort and cost. Which of those constraints tends to have the greatest influence on the final design?
BvL: As an industrial designer you have to work with all of those requirements, but not let it limit your creativity too much. In my long career I have learned that some are more dominant than others. Cab position, cooling layout, aerodynamics and visibility are the ones that define the main proportions and exterior of a truck.
But on top of that it is the graphics that give a truck character and identity.
There is nothing comparable to where so many functions come together in such a limited space
I have learned that if you have a clear idea of what design you are after, there are always solutions to get there and you need to be a versatile, all-round designer for that. The cost aspect is part of our business, it is a given and you need to be clever to work around that with your design.
CDN: The cab is both a workplace and, for long-haul drivers, effectively a home. How has that changed the way you think about interior design, particularly as expectations around comfort and digital technology have increased?
BvL: There is nothing comparable to where so many functions come together in such a limited space, as in a truck. Be it a long-haul sleeper cab or a distribution or vocational day cab. In these different variants the cockpit is very similar, but the other functions can differ a lot. At DAF we strive for an interior where functions — which at first glance seem to compete for space — are designed in a symbiotic way.
For long-haul trucks we combine the functions of driving, resting, working and sleeping in an area that is 2.5 metres wide, 2.7 metres long and 2.2 metres high. It is like a tiny home where all of this comes together. That is the strength of our DAF trucks, that we understand what is important for the driver and how they set their priorities on these functions. Setting the priorities is done in close collaboration with drivers.
A good example is the cinema seat on the co-drivers side. It is a comfortable seat that can be folded up for an unblocked view through the side window, but also has a table function that can be used from the bed. Multiple functions combined into one product, without compromise.
As far as digitalisation is concerned we have the aspects for the driver, but just as important is the information from the back-office for the business-side of transport. Both of these need to be integrated in a seamless experience that helps our customers to do their business well, sometimes even without the involvement of the driver.
CDN: Electrification removes some traditional packaging constraints but introduces entirely new ones. Do you think electric trucks will ultimately develop a genuinely different design language, or will customers still expect them to look recognisably like trucks?
BvL: Our trucks are designed on a platform that caters for a variation of different drivelines. It gives our customers the flexibility from which they can choose the appropriate solution for their business. We, as designers, consider all of these drivelines when creating our brand identity for this platform.
My observation of the car industry is that electrification has created designs that are hard to distinguish and their front ends have become so bland that you can exchange one for the other. It is almost as if brand identity is becoming something of the past.
I feel that our brand should maintain our DAF character that has evolved so logically over the years and if we design for electric drivelines we should maintain that identity, and adapt it where necessary.
In the end it should still be a good looking truck that appeals to our customers, we are not selling household products are we? I think truck drivers want to have a truck that they are proud of, and we should choose styling that has that.
CDN: DAF has benefited from changes to European vehicle-dimension regulations that created greater freedom around cab length, aerodynamics and safety. Has regulation unexpectedly become a catalyst for better design rather than simply a constraint?
BvL: Our early and voluntary adoption of the new EU vehicle weights and dimensions regulation has definitely given us a headstart and unique properties. It has worked for us to create even more spacious cabs, for which we are known.
It also shows that the EU has worked well together with the industry on new legislation that works for all stakeholders. More comfort for the drivers, more safety for drivers and other road users, and much better fuel-efficiency for transport companies. So yes, it has been a catalyst.
CDN: Passenger car design is increasingly about creating brand identity through lighting, graphics and digital experiences. In commercial vehicles, where architecture is much more tightly defined, where do you see the greatest opportunity to build a distinctive design identity in the future?
BvL: A truck’s large front surface offers ample scope to create a distinctive design identity. The shape of the front largely defines a truck’s design and can be updated relatively easily during its lifecycle. There are some areas where the layout defines the design identity, but there is also a lot of surface where you have a lot of freedom.
Being a frequent user of AI made me realise how often I use it and how it amplifies my output. In that sense there is no way back anymore
As indicated, to my opinion, passenger cars have crystallised into a layout that has become very generic — indistinguishable. Truck designs remain more distinctive, but graphics, lighting and digital features must still meet the functional requirements discussed earlier. I see plenty of opportunities on the interior to improve the life of drivers and that is what we will focus on.
CDN: You’ve talked about a future workflow where a hand sketch could become an AI-generated visual, then an accurate 3D model and ultimately a physical prototype. How close are we to that becoming a realistic design process, and what would it mean for the traditional automotive design studio?
BvL: We have proven in the exhibition ‘Heritage & Horizons, Design with AI’ at the DAF Museum, that we can do all of that. What hinders us right now to implement this further, and I think still for some time, is the accuracy and consistency in this process.
We use AI in the front-end of design, but as we progress to more realistic designs in the design phases these key criteria become more important and the impact of AI less. The step to come from a first sketch idea with AI to a fully automated workflow with an AI-agent is long and with a lot of hurdles.
We have a pragmatic approach and use it where we can, but the overpromise that is sometimes heard, is definitely not yet reality.
Being a frequent user of AI made me realise how often I use it and how it amplifies my output. In that sense there is no way back anymore and that is indeed valid for any traditional automotive studio.
