“Designers should spend time in finance, product planning and production”

Car Design News: We were talking a little bit yesterday about the role of the designer within companies, and I think you touched on quite an interesting point — that it might be beneficial for designers to move around and spend time in other departments. Can you elaborate a little more on the thinking there?

Mitja Borkert: Yes. From my perspective now, having a bit of experience in the business, I realised that when you build a proper career inside a car company, certain types of engineers are often able to move around. It doesn’t always have to be engineers — sometimes they become assistants to the CEO or the CTO, for example.

At the end of the day, if I could be 20 years younger — and for anyone listening to this who is a young designer — you are usually always looking for the next carrot. The first carrot is: I want to design a detail on the car. The next is: I want to design a car. The next is: I want to do a show car. Everyone goes through this process.

It’s a bit like sport: you are focused on one path all the time to achieve something. But if I could be younger, I would recommend — and encourage — anyone who has the opportunity to take a sidestep. Maybe do a job rotation: spend a year in product planning, a year in finance, or perhaps in production.

It will make you smarter and give you valuable experience. Afterwards, I believe it will also create more opportunities in the future. Because in design — let’s face it — you start as a young designer, then you become more experienced. We are all creative minds, but management and leadership skills are things we have to learn and experience over time.

If you take these sidesteps, you grow more, gain more experience, and ultimately create more value as a designer inside the company.

CDN: I think that’s a really interesting point, and I don’t think it’s been touched on before. Do you think this might require a structural change? Should companies take this idea seriously and maybe reorganise slightly around how design functions?

MB: I think it requires both sides. First, the designer. Because I know myself — you are hungry for a success story. And the success story of a car designer is that you create cars. That becomes your portfolio, your proof of what you have done.

But the years go by. And it takes courage, because it’s a bit like sport. If you are in MotoGP or Formula 1, very few drivers take a year off and then come back. Everyone wants to stay in the game. It’s the same in design.

You don’t want to take a step aside — even if it’s not really a sabbatical — because you might feel like you’re losing ground. That’s why it’s something you have to decide for yourself: whether it makes sense for your career.

On the other side, within companies there is currently almost no structured experience with this type of career path for designers. As far as I know, no one has really done it before. But again, it is something I would recommend for the future.

Because with experience, not everyone can become chief designer or take a leadership role. But you still want a long career — hopefully lasting until you are 65.

CDN: One final question, Mitja. You’re well known for your sketching — you sketch a lot. I’ve even seen you sketch live at events while we were talking. It almost seems like something you do instinctively.

In a world of AI and very advanced digital tools, how important is sketching for you? I know it’s something you do constantly, but what does it mean in 2026?

MB: For me, even in 2026 — and I strongly believe also in 2036 or 2046 — sketching is like breathing air into the lungs of a designer.

Design creativity always starts with an idea. In my case, that idea often comes in the morning under the shower. The first, easiest and cheapest way to capture it is to sketch it down.

The journey from that spark to the sketch and then to the final realisation has changed a lot with AI. Designers are impatient people — especially me — and you want to see results as soon as possible.

In the past, you would sketch something, then move to Photoshop, then Alias, then milling, and maybe two months later you would see the physical model. Now the design process is accelerating in an unbelievable way.

From the sketch, we can already generate quick renderings with AI — although they still need some refinement in Photoshop or similar tools. But AI is just a tool, and very soon it will become a full 3D tool.

It will also help Alias modellers, who today are often under pressure when designers sit on their shoulders saying the feeling isn’t quite right. In the future, AI will create a 3D model much faster.

Ideally, studios should also have 3D printers everywhere. One of the biggest pleasures for me is when my team uses AI in the process and, in the morning, I find a small 3D-printed model on my desk. Even during the first Teams meeting of the day, I can already study it. With experience, you can quickly judge whether the proportions are right, whether the overhangs work, and so on.

The acceleration of the design process is something I find incredibly exciting.

CDN: Is it a good time to be a car designer at the moment, do you think?

MB: I think so. I hope so. I try to stay optimistic, although of course I also see the clouds on the horizon.

We now have this wave of AI. If you just stand and look at the wave, you will be underwater very soon. So I prefer to accelerate my swimming and surf the waves.

Car design has always gone through cycles. Some decades were better than others. In the 1960s there was enormous freedom — you had dream cars without many limitations. Over the last 25 years, I’ve seen many brands expand their portfolios from coupes to SUVs, crossovers and many other segments.

At the moment, it feels like the industry is shrinking slightly and reducing complexity. That can also mean a reduction in creative variety. So I would say yes and no. As long as Lamborghini and other fantastic super sports car brands exist, there will always be great cars to design. And across the industry, everyone understands that design is important. You now see chief design officers in many companies.

When technology becomes more comparable, design becomes the differentiator. But again, we need to embrace the new tools and surf the wave. If we do that, I believe the future can still be very exciting.