The nature of commercial aviation has remained largely static, but Archer plans to change that with its multi-disciplinary team of designers
Newcomers often tout aspirations of reshaping industries but end up bringing the same approach, the same skills and the same way of working – hardly a recipe for transformative change. Not so for eVTOL company Archer, which following the launch of Midnight has strengthened its team and focused its goals.
Even a brief glance at the talent on board makes clear there are legitimate plans for sweeping change, leaning heavily on skills honed in the automotive space and less so in aviation. The automotive influence rings true not only in the overall approach to design, but also in how design is celebrated within the wider operation. For want of a better term, Archer is a design-led company. You’ll see what we mean.
Led by Julien Montousse – who has been pragmatic in understanding the fundamental “why” behind eVTOLs – the team boasts talented creatives who have left comfortable, rewarding roles in car design to join Archer. The immediate response might feasibly be “why” as well – but it turns out that alongside the appeal of leading the charge in an exciting new industry, there was also a remarkable overlap in skills.
“We’ve all come from automotive studios, so there’s a clear alignment in our sense of what the opportunities and challenges are in this space,” says Niki Smart, director of the Innovation Group at Archer and previously of advanced design roles at General Motors and Ford, among others.
For lead CMF designer Juliette Allegra – ex-Lucid, Dassault and even IKEA – the mission with Archer seemed a natural next step. “In automotive I really learned how to implement sustainable and innovative materials,” she explains, “and the chance to shape a new way of moving was so exciting. We aren’t selling a product to one specific customer, either, it’s about creating an entire ecosystem.”
Exterior design specialist Erik Saetre had plied his trade across various OEMs during his time in car design, including Honda, Land Rover, Porsche and GM. Beyond the scope of working on eVTOLs, part of the attraction came in the chance to take ownership of a project, likening the design group as a SWAT team that gets things done.
Prior to Archer, he had been gravitating towards smaller more agile studios where he felt there was a little more freedom and less bureaucracy. If that was the direction, then Archer is a strong end destination. The team is compact but multi-skilled, able to make decisions quickly and in some cases, for the first time ever.
It feels more like we’re the Wright brothers… We’re making that new thing
“I found the idea of shaping a completely new industry, a new branch of mobility, very exciting,” Saetre says, “especially with a team where you don’t have these layers of management and indecision that dilute the design and end product. Coming here, we’re influencing on more of a fundamental, architectural level. In automotive, it can feel as though you’re sort of reskinning the cat to some degree.”
Julien Thiebaud, currently design manager for advanced technologies at Archer, shares a similar story coming from Nissan, Infiniti and PSA as well as time with Tier 1 supplier Faurecia. In an act of fate, he has also designed a watch for the French air force.
“I’m part of the old guard now and prior to joining Archer I had kind of done everything I wanted in car design,” Thiebaud says. “But when I heard about this, it felt like a chance to make a proper impact. The car industry is very regimented – you have to fit a certain box as an exterior or interior designer and so on – but here, you have your fingers in so many different pies. It feels more like we’re the Wright brothers from the late 1800s. We’re making that new thing. It’s absolutely bonkers and we know that it’s going to make such an impact on the way people move.”
‘Multi-disciplinary’ has become something of a buzzword lately, but it seems fitting for the Archer team. The purview for Montousse and co. is to design everything that the customer sees and touches, from the exterior, interior, UX and CMF through to elements that are typically more of an engineering exercise, from propeller hubs, landing gear, and the immensity that is universal lightweighting.
The team is clearly tight-knit and our conversation brought just a small taste of the characters involved; Archer’s advanced designer Young-Joon Suh, for example, joined from Mazda and began his career with internships at Tesla and Buick. Even the new generation of car designers is getting a taste for this new age of aerospace, it seems.
“The goal is to assemble a world-class group of creators with a shared dream of living a nomadic, continuous movement lifestyle,” says head of design Julien Montousse. “Our aim is to build an ecosystem reflecting that, and everyone on the team brings extraordinary skills and drive to create that future.”
Ultimately, this is a group of motivated designers with a shared passion for innovation, gathering in a collaborative studio where mannequins, dogs and innovators work side-by-side. Thiebaud sums things up with his distinctly-dry sense of humour: “The cherry on top of the cake is that we’re doing something that really matters… I mean, how the hell am I going to beat this? I’ll have to retire.”
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