Features
New research explores car design working practices
A Konzepthaus report explores how car designers at various levels and locations are adapting to the new way of working
How important is smell in car design?
Car Design News chats to design firm Full Fathom about multisensory design
Inside Tesla: a retrospective at the Petersen museum
LA’s famous Petersen Museum has a hot new exhibit that documents Tesla’s brand milestones
How auto and architecture crossover in the ‘Nth Space’
CDN chats to BMW Designworks and Gensler Architects to discuss the parallels between buildings and vehicles
World exclusive: Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan global design boss
Nissan design boss Alfonso Albaisa speaks to Car Design News during a tour of the carmaker’s European design studio
How is AI influencing car design?
Car Design News learns how artificial intelligence (AI) could push the boundaries of automotive design
How batteries will shape car design
Electric skateboards are an interim step to battery-chassis-body integration and the implications for car designers will be enormous. New packaging designs are possible and old ones will be renewed. Car Design News’ Karl Smith investigates the near future
Watch: Is the future of automotive design in software?
This CDN livestream featured speakers from Volvo, Bugatti Rimac, TomTom and The Qt Company. We discuss how automotive designers are using connected technologies in informing design decisions.
Studio tour: Mahindra Advanced Design Europe
Car Design News gets a private tour of Mahindra’s brand-new design studio and previews its upcoming electric SUVs
Rumpler Tropfenwagen – the first streamliner
Car Design News’ Karl Smith investigates the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, an innovative pre-war car that inspired new approaches to aerodynamics
Watch: What’s next for the sports car?
Watch this livestream where we explore the future of the sportscar through the lens of styling, technology, lighting, UX and sustainability
Metasketching: an interview with Mike Jelinek
Michel Jelinek is an artist, designer, and researcher practicing in Czechia near Prague. He has a strong automotive design background having worked with Škoda, Volkswagen, PSA, and General Motors Europe. Jelinek spoke to Car Design News about advancing the next generation of design tools via his work at Wacom
Top Ten Pininfarina aero designs
As Pininfarina celebrates 50 years of its famous wind tunnel Car Design News highlights ten of its best designs shaped by aero tech
Book review: Vintage Works – a car designer’s sketchbook
Tim Pilsbury’s books have charmed us for years at CDN, from his instructive guides to automotive interiors to this series of sketch diaries, Pilsbury brings his perspective to bear on automotive classics as well as his personal favourites
Watch: Back to the Future of Interiors
Watch this Car Design News livestream featuring General Motors, Group Lotus and Lawrence Technological University as they reflect on changing interiors over the last 20 years and as they look ahead to the next 20.
What has happened to Audi design?
(Single)Framing the rise and decline of design kings, Audi. Design critic Wayne Batty is unconvinced by the Bauhaus aspirations of the German marque’s ’Sphere series
Review: Motion – Autos, Art, Architecture
Curated by architect Norman Foster, Motion: Autos, Art, Architecture at the Guggenheim Bilbao is an visually stunning and elegiac tribute to the golden age of the automobile
Exclusive: CDN Tours Lucid's New Design Studio
Car Design News’ North America correspondent Laura Burstein is the first non-Lucid employee inside the new Silicon Valley space, which encompasses more than just designing cars
Design industry survey reveals frustrations with decision-making process
An industry survey has revealed frustrations with slow decision-making and poor communication in the design process
Car Design News launches the 2022 Student Awards China
The prestigious design competition returns for the 13th time with Geely Auto, Lotus, Lynk & Co and Zeekr challenging students to envision the future
Porsche’s Fabian Schmölz walks CDN through the VisionGT Race Car
The brand’s first-ever digital-only car for Sony PlayStation’s GT 7 allowed designers complete freedom. Car Design News’ Laura Burstein spoke to designer Fabian Schmölz about the concept
The expanding universe of the pick-up truck
Times, and powertrains, are changing – Karl Smith investigates how the pickup truck is finding itself in the middle of an ever-expanding universe of products
The design process gets a thorough examination in the latest Konzepthaus report
Konzepthaus report examines the organisation of design teams, with detail on the relationship between employees and supervisors
A new book on Lamborghini focuses on the brand’s design history
Author Gautam Sen has turned his attention to Lamborghini to examine the legendary Italian marque’s design pedigree. Car Design News spoke to him about what readers can expect from this extensive tome
Driven: Infiniti QX60
Infiniti’s best-selling vehicle in the U.S., the QX60, has been updated with a new design and refined driving dynamics
Book Review: Roots and Wings – Peter Schreyer: Designer, Artist and Visionary
Peter Schreyer, the man who steered Audi and Volkswgen through the 80s and 90s, and completely transformed Kia, Hyundai and Genesis, is now the subject of a stellar monograph examining his work
Organisation and leadership under microscope in Konzepthaus report
Konzepthaus report examines the organisation of design teams, with detail on the relationship between employees and supervisors
Reinventing Luxury with Chris Bangle
At the recent Pratt Institute Design Symposium 2021 on Re-Inventing Luxury held at the Whitney Museum in New York City, car designer and thinker Chris Bangle shared his thoughts on creating a new narrative around luxury design. Car Design News publishes his talk here
Konzepthaus report covers employment development in car design
Salary information and details on career development in car design are among the central topics of this new report from Konzepthaus
Italian car design legends captured in unique photobook
Italian car design greats captured in unique new photo book by Car Design News contributor and former Bertone employee Piotr Degler
Do these GM concepts signal the return of the personal luxury car?
Two futuristic concepts, the Buick Smart Pod and the Cadillac Innerspace Concept recently introduced by General Motors, point to a revival of a classic format
Interview: Stellantis chief design officer, Jean-Pierre Ploué on Lancia’s future
An almost forgotten brand, Lancia is now the focus of Stellantis’ chief design officer Jean-Pierre Ploué who will oversee the revival of the brand. Car Design News spoke to him about legacy, why he likes small teams and what makes Lancia unique
Opinion: a brand story untold – Mercedes’ EQS
Telling the brand story will be the most important task for car designers in the future as electrification, urbanisation, congestion and developments around self-driving cars will conspire to curtail the driving experience. Thus, the brand story will soon be the only truly differentiating USP. Niels van Roij examines the Mercedes-Benz EQS in this light
Exclusive interview: Maximilian Missoni, head of design, Polestar
Car Design News contributing editor Guy Bird spoke to Polestar’s head of design Maximilian Missoni about sustainability goals, future products and brand identity
Where next for SUV design?
The success of SUVs has been remarkable story but has brought with it an aesthetic homogeneity. Can designers harness electrification and new technology to reinvigorate the segment?
An interview with Karl Smith, author of Brave New Car
A new publication by longtime Car Design News contributor Karl Smith looks at the future of the car, examining how electrification, autonomy, fresh ideas around luxury, interior concepts can offer a way out of the current cul de sac we find ourselves in
Review: Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021
Goodwood Festival of Speed has become the premier UK car show with a variety of cars both old and brand spanking new on display. What’s more its outdoors which means Covid restrictions are a little less stringent. Armed with camera and notebook, longtime CDN contributor Guy Bird reports
Opinion: Secret design sauce comes from expert artistry
Car design is shrowded in mystery, with brands pedalling an intangible narrative that detracts from the talent and expertise of highly skilled professionals
Studio Visit: Nissan Design America
With an eclectic spirit fostered by the late Jerry Hirshberg, the California satellite studio in La Jolla is a designer’s sanctuary with a storied history
Opinion: Rollin’ coal, culture wars and Ford’s ‘Truck of the Future’
In the United States, the ICE versus EV debate became a battleground in an ongoing culture war. But as more and more combustion era icons go electric, can design help cut through the noise and usher in a new automotive culture?
Opinion: The car remains king in Barratt Homes Britain
From automation, EVs and new ideas of urbanism – the role of the car is under question when it comes to urban centres. Venture outside metropolitan areas and you will find a new suburbia designed and built with the car at its heart. Good news for any OEMs wedded to the status quo but a challenge for proponents of new ideas of mobility
Chinese design talent dominates in Shanghai
Shanghai proved a more relaxed affair than Beijing last year, PR nightmares for Tesla not withstanding, with European OEMs playing second fiddle to a slew of new launches by homegrown talent such as Arcfox, Nio and Xpeng
Can we design cars without killing the planet?
It’s Earth Day, and car design should play a key role
