Tag - cdn

Design Driven: Polestar 3 vs. Polestar 4

Car Design News pits the Polestar 3 against its newer, younger sibling in an all-in battle royale.Which slice of Chinese-funded scandi-minimalism will win out in this design face-off

Guy Bird

“I don’t have a computer and I can’t do CAD; I have a drawing board everywhere I go”

Gordon Murray, the ”engineer with an artistic bent”, talks Car Design News through his path to design, the handful of modern cars he likes and his unashamedly analogue mindset

Stephen Dobie

Review: Autodesk Innovation Forum 2025

Warm weather and hot topics combined well in Darmstadt as Autodesk experts and customers shared current future opportunities for the software

Freddie Holmes

Zeiss Microoptics: “Haptics, sound and light will play a crucial role in future car interiors”

Roman Kleindienst, head of Zeiss Microoptics, spoke at Car Design Dialogues Shanghai

Car Design News

‘Fight or flight’: the human science of perceived quality

There is a reason why products resonate with consumers in a certain way, and Alina Braun has dedicated a large portion of her career to understanding that in more detail. Today, Braun is applying that knowledge in the world of car design

Freddie Holmes

CDR 11: “Studiokurbos moves with speed, agility and independence”

Andreas Kurbos, CEO of Studiokurbos, speaks on the growing importance of CMF design and the integration of smartphones into vehicles

Car Design News

Forvia’s minimalist tech shines at preview ahead of Shanghai auto show

Jason White reports from Detroit where Tier 1 supplier Forvia gave a preview of what was to come at Auto Shanghai

Jason White

Sex and mystery vs. tech and trends – Italy’s design battle

CDN talks to designers at Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Estrema and Bertone about the history of Italian design and what the future might hold

Michael Nash

The future of screens: balancing tech and tactility

Car Design News takes a deep dive into what’s to come for the interior screen and how designers are integrating technology into the cockpit

Lucy Abbott

Lighting and screens define new Mercedes CLA

This new generation Mercedes-Benz CLA brings a familiar form to the table, now packed full of technology and more reliant on lighting than ever

Freddie Holmes

“Indian OEMs have made a remarkable improvement in perceived quality”

Car Design News chats to a growing Indian consultancy that is finding plenty of work as a specialist in perceived quality

Freddie Holmes

Bold, clean and spacey: Lynk & Co interior team on the Z10

Car Design News takes a closer look at the interior of the Lynk & Co Z10, which draws inspiration from spacecraft

Freddie Holmes

Watch on demand: Panel discussion - The future of German automotive design

Watch on demand our virtual live panel discussion ”The future of German automotive design: a new era in innovation and sustainability”, broadcast from Munich, where we explored the challenges of balancing heritage with the demands of modern mobility, the impact of sustainability on design ethos, and the increasing role of collaboration with suppliers to drive innovation.

Car Design News

Interior Motives: why designers must bring emotion to technology

How to create tech products that customers love is the question designers must answer, writes Robert Forrest

By Robert Forrest

Inside DRVN design and the art of the Continumod

Car Design News gets a behind-the-scenes tour of the Coventry studio and the design team led by Wayne Burgess

Freddie Holmes

Should Renault thank Peugeot for its recent design success?

CDN’s exclusive Q&A with Sandeep Bhambra, Renault’s chief designer, advanced design and concept cars reveals all

Guy Bird

Dacia teams up with design students for UX and YouClip project

Dacia design boss David Durand explains the brand’s latest project with design students, and why it has reminded the team to “embrace new perspectives”

Freddie Holmes

Perceived quality: a bridge between function and desire

Experienced perceived quality specialist Kyungmin Lee explains how carmakers stand to gain from giving PQ a platform within the group

Freddie Holmes

Honda debuts 0 Series Saloon and SUV prototypes at CES

New electric series brings a fresh philosophy and design language – but also channels Honda’s heritage

Karl Smith

UX dominates the automotive stage at CES

Read on for an overview of the UX-related launches at CES 2025

Freddie Holmes

January focus: perceived quality

This January Car Design News will be placing perceived quality under the spotlight

Car Design News

Interior Motives: Fiat Grande Panda

The 2024 Fiat Grande Panda is part of a new family of vehicles that lean into the legacy of the very first one, but in intelligent new ways

Guy Bird

DS goes luxury chic with flagship No.8

Since Stellantis launched the DS brand back in 2009, you could say the models have been somewhat over-designed. Now the design team are reining things back in, starting with a brand new flagship model, the DS No.8. Mark Smyth travelled to the DS Studio in Paris to take a look

Mark Smyth

Nuro’s head of design talks autonomous pods

Autonomous vehicles need not be as cold and uninviting as we might first think, providing the focus lands on humanisation and smooth UX design

Michael Nash

The world is getting phygital, and so is car design

PARTNER CONTENTThis content was paid for by Granstudio and produced in partnership with Car Design NewsWith a phygital approach to design, Granstudio’s transdisciplinary creative team ensure that context and individual needs are at the heart of every project

Car Design News

Pininfarina CCO on restoring Honda’s first ever concept car

The Honda HP-X has been beautifully restored by Pininfarina, capturing an iconic glimpse in time. But instead of feeling nostalgic, the design team is looking ahead to challenge market convergences

Michael Nash

Ford’s revamped London studio puts focus on human-centric design

Car Design News goes inside Ford’s human-centered design studio to understand how the brand is researching what people want, use and ultimately need

Freddie Holmes

Register now: Be safe, be seen: the future of automotive lighting

Join us for an exclusive livestream exploring the evolving role of automotive lighting in a world of increasing complexity. Lighting isn’t just about safety anymore—it’s all about branding and user experience. In this session, we’ll explore cool new technologies, how lighting laws are changing things, and how lighting helps shape a car’s identity. Think illuminated logos, dynamic light patterns, and how lighting can make a car feel more emotional and functional at the same time.

Car Design News

Interior Motives: Nilu27 – Analogue Purism

Sasha Selipanov realises his dream of creating a hypercar with a visceral driving experience

Karl Smith

New DS concept combines autonomous driving, Formula E performance and feathers

With one side dedicated to racing and the other to chauffeured comfort, DS Automobiles’ new concept has a split personality

Trinity Francis

“Aero-dramatic”: Lynk & Co's design team discuss the 02

At a suitably quirky launch event in Milan – dancers, saxophones and laser shows all featured – Lynk & Co showed off its 02 and Car Design News spoke to the design team

James McLachlan

First sight: BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe gets a makeover

The second generation has been pared back inside and out, reducing visual clutter and bringing what the design team see as more of a traditional BMW look and feel

Freddie Holmes

Register now: Master of none: how to create agile muti-skilled design teams

Join us for an exclusive livestream exploring the evolving dynamics of automotive design teams. As design roles shift, it’s all about creativity, flexibility, and standing out. This session is all about building versatile teams, encouraging innovation, and attracting top talent. We’ll chat about what makes a great design leader, how to take smart risks, and ways to give teams the freedom to thrive in a competitive world.

Car Design News

Watch now: How to prepare for the AI-future in Automotive Design

Car Design News

New super-slim speakers could revolutionise in-car audio design

Innovative technology and design exploration has led to a breakthrough in how in-car audio systems can be packaged

Freddie Holmes

Interview: Brian Balicki, head of design, Volvo Trucks North America

The interior of the new Volvo VNL truck highlights the crossover (and constrast) between commercial vehicle and passenger car design

Freddie Holmes

First sight: Renault Estafette Concept

The legendary workhouse returns for a BEV era

Karl Smith

Swarovski Mobility on ‘the science of creativity’

Crystal is a relatively new material to the automotive industry and design teams looking to bring it in require an experienced partner

James McLachlan

UX becoming “increasingly versatile” says Renault designer

Olivier Daillance discusses the impact of new Euro NCAP guidance on UX, leveraging his skills as a graphic designer and how AI will make for intuitive cockpits

Trinity Francis

The mysterious role of perceived quality in car design

The science of perceived quality ensures a product materialises as intended

Freddie Holmes

Caterham 620S: timeless car design and form following function

Following an earlier experience with the entry-level Super 600, Car Design News gets to know the raucous and hands-on Caterham Seven 620S. It surprised not only with its performance, but also the user experience

Freddie Holmes

bb-Auto: Looking back at fifty years of innovation

As the storied German customiser heads to Monterey Car Week, we look back on a half-century of bespoke Porsches – and others

Karl Smith

Watch now: Enabling creative innovation in the design studio

James McLachlan

How does marketing influence car design?

Car Design News investigates how departments beyond the studio influence the final design of a vehicle. This time, it is not engineering, but marketing and product planning under the microscope

Freddie Holmes

In pictures: Verne – Rimac’s new autonomous mobility bet

Car Design News shares new images of the autonomous mobility start-up backed by the Rimac leadership team

Car Design News

“This can only be done in Italy” – Quentin Amore on the Maserati GranCabrio

Car Design News asked exterior chief designer at Maserati, Quentin Amore to compare the electric and ICE versions of the new GranCabrio and how Maserati is incorporating historic cues into modern design

Trinity Francis

Exclusive: Skoda appoints new interior/HMI lead

Skoda has brought over Chan Park who will serve as the new head of interior/HMI design

Freddie Holmes

AI and VR take centre stage at Autodesk innovation forum

The Autodesk Innovation Forum brought together experts from Kia, Rivian and Porsche to explore the roles of AI and VR in design. Freddie Holmes reports

Freddie Holmes

Underpromising and overdelivering in the age of the software-defined vehicle

In an era in which mainstream brands like Audi, Volkswagen and Tesla as well as start-ups such as Fisker, are asking customers to put their faith in an entirely new technology, maybe OEMs are better off underpromising and overdelivering, writes Drew Smith

Drew Smith

“We are trying to create a pure design where technology is there but not in the foreground”

Head of interior at Maserati Andreas Wuppinger on the relationship between timesless design and evolving technology

James McLachlan

In praise of pushbuttons (and other physical controls)

Buttons are making a slight return thanks to revised guidance from Euro NCAP. Drew Smith considers what we lost in the move to screens, and what we might gain from the new rules

Drew Smith

Tata UX lead talks design gimmicks and longevity

From ChatGPT to smart surfaces, Michael Nash talks to Tata’s Agnete Linikaite about the development of UX and trending interior design ideas

Michael Nash

Watch: Afry’s head of design on techwashing, screens and AI

Car Design News pays a visit to Afry in Gothenburg to catch up with head of design Rob Dolton. Fresh from a visit to consumer tech show CES, Dolton is critical of what he sees as ’techwashing’ , why designers need to bring back tactility and physical controls and the use of AI

James McLachlan

Car Design News returns to Milan

Car Design News is returning to the Salone del Mobile in Milan to explore new ideas of luxury

Car Design News

‘In the race to be “cool”, quality and coherence are being left behind’

CES 2024 demonstrated that established OEMs like Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes are still asking the wrong questions when it comes to user experience, writes Drew Smith

Drew Smith

Flashback: the origins of the speedometer

An instrument so ubiquitous we hardly notice it, the speedometer was once a marvel of the emerging automotive age

Karl Smith

New Isuzu D-Max makes a case for the pick-up truck

Car Design News tests the new Isuzu D-Max pick-up truck, an experience that underlines the ever-important role of ‘utility’ in car design. Plus the need for a first-class user experience…

Freddie Holmes

HiPhi enlists audio expert for in-car HiFi

In-vehicle audio is becoming an increasingly important element of the user experience. To find out how carmakers and suppliers are working toward a system optimised for luxury EVs, CDN sat down with experts from both sides who have been doing just that

Freddie Holmes

Watch: More than just a new coat of paint - Alias 2024

James McLachlan

IAA Mobility Design Conference Livestream

A precursor for ”Building a Creative Culture”, this panel looked at how designers from Mahindra Group and Ford are cultivating a high-performing and creative culture in the world of design, and producing a roadmap to creativity in their studios

James McLachlan

The Volvo team unpacks the EX90

The team behind Volvo’s flagship EX90 offer their unique perspectives on the design development of the car

James McLachlan

SMMT event highlights pros and cons in modern car design

CDN writers take various new cars for a spin and give their view on where the user experience excels in some cases and falls down in others

Car Design News

Research sheds light on future user experience

Car Design News talks to trained pyschologist and UX designer Guido Meier-Arendt about a recent study on shaping a positive user experience

Freddie Holmes

Suppliers hit up Shanghai auto show

It was not only the automakers at the Shanghai auto show – major suppliers were out in force too and with plenty creativity of their own to display

Mark Andrews

How is future mobility shaping CMF?

Ahead of an upcoming livestream on future materials, Car Design News caught up with a handful of experts in the space to get a handle on the main talking points in this exciting field

Freddie Holmes

Sneak Preview: 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class interior

Chief design officer Gorden Wagener tells CDN’s Laura Burstein “the bigger the better” when it comes to the new, screen-filled instrument panel

Laura Burstein

Watch: How will CMF shape an electric future?

Watch this premier livestream, in partnership with Ultrafabrics, where our panel will explore new ways to reshape the exterior and interior of cars.

James McLachlan

How will autonomous driving shape car design?

This month, Car Design News will be placing a spotlight on what autonomous driving means for car design. There are many different variables at play and it is very early days, but here are some of the key considerations

Freddie Holmes

Watch: Adobe Substance 3D: Create, Iterate, and Visualize Car Design Concepts

Watch this webinar, in partnership with Adobe where they discuss how Adobe Substance 3D apps help transportation designers with their creative workflows and enhance collaboration with digital design reviews.

James McLachlan

How important is smell in car design?

Many might turn their nose up at the idea of investing in multisensory design, but research shows that carmakers could be missing out

Freddie Holmes

Interview: Luka Lenard UX/UI design manager at Bugatti Rimac

Ahead of Car Design News’ livestream discussing software and the future of automotive design, we have a quick chat with Luka Lenard UX/UI design manager at Bugatti Rimac

James McLachlan

In defence of big screens: Merc UX design boss fights back

Mercedes director of UX design, Klaus Frenzel likes big screens and he cannot lie. And he tells Car Design News why (among other things)

Guy Bird

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.

James McLachlan

Volkswagen reveals bold autonomous Gen.Travel concept

Volkswagen has weighed in on the future mobility argument with the Gen.Travel – a radical-looking autonomous vehicle with shades of the Rumpler Tropfenwagen. It is aimed at providing a premium alternative to short haul flights and longer train journeys. Klaus Zyciora and Peter Wouda spoke exclusively to Car Design News about the concept

James McLachlan

MG adds bold new EV to line-up

The MG4 is the brand’s first EV to be built on parent company SAIC’s modular scalable platform – and brings a dramatic new look to the table

Freddie Holmes

Lexus launches fifth-generation RX

Now in its fifth generation, Lexus’ top-selling crossover gets a new design and a user experience that has been custom-tailored in North America.

Laura Burstein

Acura previews electric future with Precision EV concept

Laura Burstein was in New York City for the east coast reveal of Acura’s Precision EV concept, a hint at where the brand is headed in the not-so-distant future

Laura Burstein

What is the future of the sports car?

Sports car design is in flux, with various trends changing how designers may need to approach upcoming vehicles. We caught up with several designers to discuss the main challenges and opportunities ahead

Freddie Holmes

GM’s Sandy Lipscomb on future vehicle UX design

General Motors will soon introduce a new software platform, Ultifi, to enable greater levels of personalisation and a more connected user experience. Car Design News caught up with Sandy Lipscomb, senior manager for GM’s Ultifi design team, to find out more

Michael Nash

Watch: What’s next for the sports car?

Watch this livestream where we explore the future of the sports car through the lens of styling, technology, lighting, UX and sustainability

James McLachlan