Artcenter graduate show: Summer 2023

Recently Car Design News attended ArtCenter College of Design’s Summer Graduate Show, one of three the school will have this year. The shows are live in the real world at the Pasadena Civic Center after some virtual shows during the pandemic. The Civic Center venue allows for all disciplines to be celebrated in one (very big) hall, a good way of absorbing trends across multiple disciplines and, in general, just enjoying the creativity and energy young designers bring to their craft, whether fine art, illustration, industrial design, environmental design, or, here reviewed, transportation design projects.

ArtCenter allows each student to display three projects, a thesis and two others. Often the students will talk about their thesis projects, but sometimes another project will be the one that they feel best shows their talent and capabilities. CDN tries to accommodate the students’ preferences and also display a variety of projects for our readers looking to the future of transportation design.

Design trends in the industry are a bit beyond the very granular sample of a single graduating design class. But we see a lot of shows at ArtCenter, and project types come and go, influenced by a multiple of factors, not just industry sales, but also fashion and culture trends, especially in an eclectic and ‘trendy’ city like Los Angeles, the crossroads of so many design paths.

Lately we have seen more luxury projects of various types, a reflection of new OEMs entering the market: Rivian, Lucid, for instance, along with Tesla, Lexus, and Genesis, which are very strong brands in California. Additionally, we are seeing more off-road/adventure vehicles projected for traditional brands such as Jeep, but also for Polaris, as well as luxury brands that are considering an off-road vehicle. Sports cars are a perennial favourite, of course, and we see several of these at nearly every Grad Show.

Here is an overview of the projects of the Summer 2023 graduates:

Peiheng (Jackson) Zhang

Zhang’s thesis project is an electric crossover for Mercedes called the EQ All-Terrain vehicle. Unlike the aggressive styling of many outdoor vehicles, Zhang’s EQ has a calming exterior and interior design that emphasizes a connection to the environment, the enjoyment of nature and mental well-being. The interior has a flow-motion theme that Zhang describes as being evocative of water moving through rocks in a river.

Glen George

Polaris is an American outdoor adventure vehicle brand that has moved from ATVs and snowmobiles to a more substantial presence in the market with new vehicle typologies, outdoor gear and lifestyle brands, and now with Clay Dean joining as senior design director, a new emphasis on design. George’s project ties in with these movements with a small UTV he calls Gorilla. At three meters in length, and a width of only 1270mm it is a compact off-roader with a strong cab-forward presence.

King Gu

Gu’s thesis project is an Aston-Martin Lagonda ultra-luxury sedan called the Business LandJet. Sleek, massive, and a bit reminiscent of William Towns’ wedgey Lagonda design from the 1970s, The Business Landjet seats four in executive-class comfort. A panoramic glass roof sweeps over the cabin to give occupants a generous view of the passing landscape. The trunk can swing down and out to allow access to two jump seats with a table for dining al fresco, perfect for celebrating the latest corporate acquisition or just dining away from the city, in your own rolling five-star restaurant.

Yang Hong

Hong imagines an electric Porsche as a pure driver’s car stripped of all excess and focused of the experience of (electric) driving. Benchmarked on the Mazda MX-5, of which would be the same size, Hong imagines a Porsche racing for the street, with a minimal of interior creature comfort, but a maximum of fun.

Yizhou (Johnny) Jiang

Nio, the Chinese OEM, is becoming a popular subject for thesis projects, and Johnny Jiang join the ranks of those seeking to guide the future direction of the brand with his proposal for a flagship coupé, the Nio Pisces. A Gran Touring Coupé benchmarked against the Aston Martin DB9 and the Mercedes SL, the two-seat, electric, four-wheel motor flagship features a clean minimalist interior and a panoramic glass roof.

Jonathan Kfouri

Certainly one of the more out there concepts we’ve seen in a while, Jonathan Kfouri has envisioned a craft that combines wind sports with magnetic levitation to create a personal sailing craft. Designed with the Surf/Lifestyle brand RVCA, and sponsored by Kiska, the Austrian design house known for motorcycles, the craft, called a Tross (as in “Albatross”) has the potential for both a sport/leisure fun craft, or a personal commuter. The sail can extend and retract for easier storage.

Hyukwoon David Park

Park imagines a line of ultra-luxury family travel vehicles for Range Rover. The Range Rover Serene is the flagship, a combination of a minivan and an SUV, with a long tail and plenty of space for family travel. The chassis and body are engineered to minimize vibration to combat motion sickness in children (and adults). The SUV/Minivan typology maintains the Range Rover design language and philosophy, though its proportions are stretched to accommodate this new format.

YongQuan Wang

“You’re never too old to have a fun ride” is the tagline of Wang’s thesis project, the Czinger Vision 70s concept. A two-seat roadster that morphs in different ways to accept an older clientele (hence ‘70s’ name), the goal of the car is to extend motoring fun well into one’s golden years with an electric car that has seats that can pivot and rise to aide in ingress and egress, an IP that slides out of the way and an driving system that allows for seamless transition between manual and autonomous driving modes. Projected as a Czinger model to a more mature clientele, it presumably would have the wicked performance of the brand and the sophisticated manufacturing that makes Czinger a brand to watch at many levels.

Lingyu Xu

Like Wong’s project above, Lingyu Xu’s thesis involves design for a more mature clientele. In this case, a GT coupé for the Mercedes EQ line, one targeted at the “empty nester” customer who enjoys luxury touring, while making the most of sports coupé format. Iconic gullwing doors allow for easy ingress and egress. The seats and IP wrap around the occupants, and a set of bespoke luggage, including a travel bag that nestles into the center console area.