“I am so proud of them all” – Richard Pietruska, ArtCenter College of Design

Few design educators have influenced modern automotive design as much as Richard Pietruska. Over five decades at ArtCenter, he mentored designers who reshaped the industry. In this interview, Pietruska reflects on teaching, legacy and why hand sketching remains central to creative automotive thinking.

Car Design News: Over your career, you’ve taught and mentored many designers who have gone on to become industry icons — how do you reflect on that legacy, and what do you believe is the most important lesson you’ve imparted to your students about design and creativity?

Richard Pietruska: I think the most important lesson for all my students is to be passionate about cars, keep an open mind and learn to “SEE”, to experiment and search for new shapes and forms, keep an open mind, to take risks and to be confident about who you are and see what the future might hold for you as a designer. Remember there is a lot of competition out there.

 J Mays and Chris Bangle had strong philosophical ideas about design, which they carried on into their careers as leaders in the design world

CDN: Among your students, do you have favourites whose work or approach particularly impressed you? How did their styles and perspectives differ, and what can today’s young designers learn from those differences?

RP: It’s hard to single out or pick favorites from the hundreds of students that I have had over the 50 years of teaching at ArtCenter but most of them had an unique approach to the way they handled themselves in the classroom and upon graduation and in their careers. Some industry leaders like Shiro Nakamura, Frank Stephenson, Ken Okuyama, SanYup Lee, Anders Warming, Franz von Holzhausen, Ian Cartabiano, Henrick Fisker, Tisha Johnson, Pierre Leclercq, and all so many others who have had a major impact on the automotive design world as we know it today. Everyone of them was unique and daring.

One example was the differences between two students who were at school and at the same time. They were J Mays and Chris Bangle. Both of them had strong philosophical ideas about design, which they carried on into their careers as leaders in the design world. Both had very different personalities, goals and so on. The conviction and passion was always there and very helpful, but it was all the hard work that it took to become successful. I admire them, as well as all my students.

I taught Henrik Fisker at the Swiss Campus and he was never happy about his grade because all he did were black and silver cars

CDN: Any other standout memories?

RP: Shiro Nakamura was one of my first students back in the 70’s. Shiro and his wife came to a party I had back then. Such a nice, fun couple. We stayed friends all these years. Both Shiro and Anders Warming were musicians as well. Ken Okuyama was a great student and great designer and he became Transportation Chair at ArtCenter years later and I served under him, that felt a little weird at first. Marek Djordjevic [Rolls Royce Phantom] is now head of our department as well. I taught Henrik Fisker at the Swiss Campus and he was never happy about his grade because all he did were black and silver cars. 

Sasha Selipanov never liked sketching so he got a poor grade, but now we have a mutual respect for one another. Frank Stephenson really worked hard and did some impressive work and had a great career. Franz von Holzhausen was very talented, but he tells me now that he always waited til the last moment to do his assignments. He’s good…

Lots of great talent from Japan and other Asian countries over the years. Masato Inoue, another great designer and musician, is carrying on the sketching techniques online in Italy. 

The ideas flow from the brain to the eye and finally to the hand that completes the process. This is what I find so rewarding

I’ve had a number of twins in my classes and they always messed with me. I never could get them straight. The Bridan twins played these games and I’m still confused between them, but their HF-11 is pretty cool.

RP: I have to mention a few of the great female designers that were in my classes. I already mentioned Tisha Johnson and her latest project Slate. One of the first females was Chelsia Lau who went on to work for Ford, she was special and always worked so hard. It was difficult for women to be in this program of mostly men and they had to really prove themselves in this environment. Michelle Christensen, Nadya Arnaout, Christine Park, Joann Jung, Grace Lee, Jenny Ha, Lili Melikian, Laura Arias and so many others who are successful and making their marks in automotive design. I am so proud of them all. 

CDN: Sketching has long been a cornerstone of automotive design. From your perspective, what makes sketching still relevant in today’s design process, especially with advanced digital tools available?

RP: I’ve always taught students the value of good sketching as a way to communicate their ideas or concepts and how and what they are thinking. Like all those great ideas sketched on a napkin at lunch with your boss. I still feel it is quite relevant today even if you look at all the digital media that’s available to them. The ideas flow from the brain to the eye and finally to the hand that completes the process. This is what I find so rewarding. There is also the emotional aspect of a good design and how people respond to the sketch. I firmly believe that to be a truly great designer, a good sketch sets you apart from all the others. Then once you settle on your final concept and have a positive direction then move on to the other digital tools for refinement and presentation if necessary.

CDN: How does sketching influence the early stages of a car’s design compared to 3D modelling and digital rendering?

RP: Sometimes when you jump ahead too quickly to the digital modeling and rendering process, it’s harder to have an emotional response in that direction. In my opinion, nothing has the impact and power of a great hand sketch. Too many young designers look for all the cliches and short cut techniques to make a pretty sketch, which they see all over the place. But then when you ask them to design something new, they are lost and confused. To me, sketching is more intimate and rewarding when searching for ideas and concepts. It’s all in the wrists sometimes...

CDN: Can you walk us through your personal sketching process? How do you use sketches to explore proportion, form, and emotion in a design?

RP: In my beginning design class, everything is done by hand using pencils and markers. First they are taught the “proper” way to sketch and to forget everything they’ve learned from online classes and examples. We experiment with lines, shapes and forms allowing ideas to flow easier with these exercises. By doing it this way there’s more energy and emotion involved, but learning to “see” and explore is key to communicating your ideas on paper. 

Put your heart and soul into every single sketch you do and keep looking for new shapes and forms - which to me is the main job of designers today

For each project in my class, the students are asked to come up with hundreds of ideas. We talk about the principals of good design, proportions and what makes their designs look futuristic. When it’s time to refine one of their concepts, we talk about packaging, ingress and egress, wheel sizes, window graphics and detail indication. But the key is that their designs should look unique and creative. And a note: out of these hundreds of designs, not all of them are going to be good designs - but that’s part of the learning process.

CDN: Do you see sketching as primarily a creative tool, a technical tool, or both? How should that balance play out?

RP: I see sketching as both a creative and technical skill or tool. There are many schools of thoughts on this one, but I get more satisfaction looking at a well crafted sketch with lots of flair and emotion. Then once your sketch is resolved to a point where you feel it has all the characteristics that make it unique and satisfying, a final tighter sketch or rendering will communicate this and then it’s on to any digital stuff you might want to finish up with.

CDN: For aspiring car designers, what advice would you give about developing their sketching skills and integrating them into a professional design process?

RP: Be careful what you see online. It takes a lot of practice and hard work to develop a truly unique style. Put your heart and soul into every single sketch you do and keep looking for new shapes and forms - which to me is the main job of designers today. Learn about good perspectives and ellipses. Remember – practice makes perfect.