Day one of the Car Design Dialogues global event saw deep-dive reviews of the latest cars, presented by design teams from all over the world
Day one of the brand new global event, Car Design Dialogues, has concluded. Experts from all over the world came together to provide deep-dives on their latest vehicle designs and to discuss some of the most challenging issues facing the automotive industry.
”Ford has always been a functional-driven design house,” said Scott Anderson, interior design manager of the Bronco Sport, talking live from his home in Michigan. ”All our previous products have a clear and purposeful intent behind them, and in order to do that, you have to look at the customer lifestyle. We are doing extensive work to get a deep insight from our customers… and will be doing a lot more of it as we move forward.”
The Ford design team, led by vice president Moray Callum, provided exclusive footage of their new Bronco as they spoke about the details of the vehicle. Shortly after, Robin Page, head of design at Volvo Cars, sat down with Car Design News editor James McLachlan to talk about some of the latest concepts coming out of Sweden. He pointed to the influence of past models.
”We have taken the best bits from our heritage, the bits that people treasure and enjoy… We always look back at the past, but point forward towards modern design. It’s about designing for the time and for the customers that are relevant.”
Volvo’s sister company Polestar also featured on the first day of Car Design Dialogues, with design director Maximillian Missoni and his team outlining the forward-looking ethos that the brand exudes.
Similarly forward-focused is the Hummer EV, though with a very different upbringing. ”The original design brief was a question: how can we take the battery architecture and transfer it into a truck with ultimate capability? For us at GM, Hummer is ultimate capability,” said Phil Zak, executive Design Director and Global Brand Champion for Chevrolet at Hummer.
Frank Stephenson waxed lyrical in an fireside chat. The wide-ranging conversation touched on the problems with autonomous vehicles, his unfavourable view of electric vehicles and why the future lies in the skies.
The finale of the event was left to the design team at Jeep. With a deep-dive design review focusing on the Grand Wagoneer. It marks the rebirth of a bona fide Amercian icon, and it was clear this was a passion project for the team. Most striking were the carefully crafted interior details - jewel-like rotary dials, for example, which offer an alternative to minimalist approach that often comes with touchscreens.
Watch each session on demmand below:
Suite: Photorealism & Creativity for Digital Materials with Substance
Fireside Chat: Robin Page, Volvo Cars – Human-Centric Design
Panel Discussion: Magna Exteriors
Suite: Dinamica®: The Sustainable Choice
Design Review: Polestar Precept
Panel Discussion: Tomorrow’s Vehicle Launches Today
Day two of Car Design Dialogues featured more deep-dives from expert design teams with companies including Lucid, GAC and Land Rover.
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