That's funny. On another site there continues to be example after example of crimes against the automobile via Photoshop. I applaud many of these creative dilettantes, but sometimes, it's My comment was and continues to be 'there are days I wish photoshop hadn't been invented''
Chevrolet Design DESIGNERS Car Design Review 7: Phil Zak, Chevrolet By Car Design News05 January 2021 Chevrolet’s Phil Zak on what he looks for in a designer, how to stand out in the marketplace, and why design should respond to locality I was always drawing as a kid. I think my mom still has sketches that I did when I was about three years old. I started drawing cars and trucks pretty much as soon as I was able to pick up a pencil. I always had a fascination with things that moved. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and I went to the Cleveland Institute of Art. During my first year I happened to go into the industrial design area and at that time they were designing machinery such as chainsaws. I suddenly realised I could combine my creative ability with a mechanical application. At that time General Motors had professional designers travelling to teach an elective transportation class on Saturdays. Once I started learning from them, my sketches really improved. I had a few offers when I graduated and I chose GM. After 18 months I had an opportunity to work at Opel through a designer rotation programme. It was my first time out of the country. I spent a total of about six months at the design studio in Rüsselsheim, Germany and it really opened my eyes and gave me a global perspective on design. It was fascinating to see cars that made sense all of a sudden due to their surroundings. So for example, a Smart car does not make sense in the wide, open spaces of the US, but it’s right at home within a congested city like Paris, where finding a parking spot is very difficult. As a young designer coming out of school, this experience really opened my eyes to functionality and local design requirements. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login 1/4 SHOW CAPTION I returned to Opel for a couple of years as the exterior director, before leaving GM for two years to work as the design director for Hyundai, providing me the opportunity to be immersed in the Korean culture. Upon my return to GM, I spent five years in China with the Pan-Asian Technical Centre (PATAC) and gained more valuable experience seeing the local design requirements for that part of the world. These experiences have definitely had a huge influence on the way I look at design. I always aim to figure out exactly what is needed in each marketplace. People can try to explain how things are in each area of the world, but until you live it and experience it on a daily basis, I don’t think you can truly understand it. Critically, our job as designers is to convey, through the vehicle’s appearance, a sense of athletic performance for Chevrolet, or an expression of luxury appropriate for Cadillac The approach to design is varied and mixed at GM due to the different marques. I have worked on Cadillacs, Buicks, GMCs, Opels and now I’m working on Chevrolets. You can’t take one design philosophy and then just spread it over all those brands. On the Chevrolet side, everything we do is dynamic and tied to performance. We have the Corvette, which is one embodiment of performance, and we have our full-size trucks, which give a totally different connotation to the word. Whenever we get a new project, the first thing we do is sit down as a team. There are marketing and engineering requirements and we need to figure out who the customer is for each project. Critically, our job as designers is to convey, through the vehicle’s appearance, a sense of athletic performance for Chevrolet, or an expression of luxury appropriate for Cadillac. And then finally we think about the steps we will have to take in order to make the product stand out in the marketplace. We set out all these elements and prioritise them before starting to sketch. We have weekly reviews, again sitting down as a team and talking through our thoughts. This process hasn’t changed much over recent years, but the speed of progress has really increased. It now only takes a couple of days for us to go from initial sketches to being able to sit inside a vehicle using our virtual reality tool’s goggles and prioritise them before starting to sketch. We have weekly reviews, again sitting down as a team and talking through our thoughts. Image Unavailable, Please Login 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe If I was to hire a designer, I might accept somebody that has a little less talent but a brilliant attitude and a desire to learn. I also want people that can be team players, accepting contributions from other designers and trying to help improve on them. I always like to see the sketch books during an interview, not just all the finished renderings. The scribbles give me an idea of how that person thinks. I want to see the steps they took to arrive at their destination, how they overcome challenges and if they can justify the reasons behind their decisions. It is truly an exciting time to be a vehicle designer right now. It is a super-competitive space. There are so many different brands emerging, especially in Asia. I can see a lot of exploration and some of the concepts are very interesting. No-one knows how fast electrification will become mainstream but we are dedicated to an electric future, which is exciting and can open the door for creative design solutions. And from an electrification standpoint, I think the way in which design adapts is going to be interesting. At the moment, electric cars are essentially mimicking traditional ICE vehicles. The graphics might be different on the front end because you don’t necessarily need the big grille to cool down an engine, for example. But so far designs are mostly sticking to the more traditional shapes in the hope of appealing to customers who may not want to take a chance on aesthetics as well as the driveline. With the flat, skateboard-like platforms, we could have the ability to do something that is totally new. Then there is the design opportunity that comes with autonomous vehicles. Cruise has shown the Orion concept, which is a space to be shared with multiple people, like an Uber-esque self-driving vehicle operating in cities. That’s one possible iteration for autonomous vehicle design, but we also have ideas like the FNR concept, which is still sporty and dynamic. I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg. In this context, the question of differentiation between brands becomes increasingly difficult to answer. Lighting is already becoming a way of standing out from the crowd, so we are thinking of what to do beyond the basic functions of lighting with welcome animations and atmospheric settings for example. But there are so many other parts of the vehicle that could be used to define a brand. Going forward, there is only greater opportunity for design. This article first appeared in Car Design Review 7.
Cadillac Design https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/car-design-review-7-crystal-windham-cadillac/41432.article DESIGNERS Car Design Review 7: Crystal Windham, Cadillac By Car Design News30 December 2020 Crystal Windham of Cadillac picks out three career highlights that changed the way she approaches design My design career really started with an art teacher who helped me create a portfolio that allowed me to enter the College of Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit. I was taking various art courses there when the chair of transportation design, Carl Olsen, encouraged me to enroll in the ‘Introduction to Automotive Design’ course. I hadn’t thought much about automotive design, but when I got started in the class, I fell in love. There was no looking back. I had found my calling. An internship at GM allowed me to experience automotive interior design. I had considered a career in interior design, but I thought it would be in the design of houses, not cars. The internship changed all that and led to a job offer from GM. I have been here ever since. I can name three assignments in my 25 years here that have helped me grow in my career as a designer. The first was taking an international assignment in Germany at Opel. Observing and then learning a different design and manufacturing culture broadens your perspective of the world and even within your own company. The second assignment was at Buick – an exterior design project for the Verano, which was a sharing assignment with our design partners in China. Given this car’s international market, it was an excellent opportunity to design with a global perspective in mind. “At Cadillac, we have to be at the top of our game, because the competition across the range of luxury brands, whether in design, technology or performance, is excellent now” My third significant assignment was moving into a director position of interior design at Chevrolet and redesigning the concept of the interiors of Chevrolet was an enormous opportunity for me. In particular the design of the interior of the Impala set the standard for Chevrolet’s interior design and prepared me for the work I do today at Cadillac. Image Unavailable, Please Login Crystal Windham worked on the interior of the 2014 Chevrolet Impala Along the way, I have developed a design philosophy that is infused into my design process. At the core of our work is a strong understanding of the brand, the customer base and the competition. With this fundamental knowledge we work to create a strong magnetic draw to both the interior and exterior of our cars. The design must be compelling at all readings – first, second, and third – from overall form to the smallest detail. ‘Surprise and delight’ should inform the design at every level. Along the way, the design process should embrace innovation and seek out unconventional and forward-thinking solutions. I enjoy working with designers who can embrace this philosophy and bring strong artistic and technical skills to the project. They must be positive, willing to take risks – maybe failing occasionally – and even be uncomfortable in the design space as we search for solutions. A designer should be confident, but humble, open to new ideas and new design influences. And they should be comfortable working as a team with others and combining their skills and strengths with those of their colleagues. This design philosophy and the design teams that embrace it are critical for the years ahead as we transition to a new era of cars. Automotive luxury in the 2020s will be characterised by technology that is more integrated, less intrusive, and more user-friendly. There will be more interconnection with the personal devices of drivers and passengers. This technology will be used to entertain and provide superior comfort, as well as make travel safer. Interiors will be designed to be pleasing to the senses, from touch to sound and even to smell, allowing for a journey to be very relaxing, even for the driver. We are already seeing these trends reflected in a new generation of Cadillacs. 1/4 SHOW CAPTION The 2016 Escala concept car was our first expression of these new ideas and its interior design is the basis for so much of what we are doing today. The selection of materials, the fabrics and their craftsmanship were highly influential in our current designs. The newly-launched Escalade brings the ideas expressed in the Escala to our Cadillac flagship. The interior is meant to bring the experience of a car to a truck. It is an SUV that is almost like a second home. There is a custom look and feel to the interior, from the overall first impression to the smallest details, like the stitching and piping on the seats. Technology is definitely on display in the Escalade, but in an advanced way that feels more integrated into the overall design. The curved OLED screen, first seen on the Escala, is part of a new generation of displays that will be featured on Cadillac products. The size and pixel density of this customisable screen, along with its augmented reality and night-vision features, is unparalleled in the industry and will set the standard for future screen displays. Supercruise The GM Supercruise, first featured in the Cadillac CT6, will bring an amazing new driving experience to the Escalade. The new generation of Supercruise premiering within the new Escalade features lane-changing abilities, a new sensor package and works on 200,000 miles of North American roads. For long-distance, luxury travel it is a totally new level of comfort and convenience for the driver. Forthcoming models will integrate these features to an even greater degree and will feature some of our most advanced design ever, as well as electric powertrains in some models. At Cadillac, we have to be at the top of our game because the competition across the range of luxury brands, whether in design, technology, or performance, is excellent now. But we feel that our design teams, along with our engineers, are raising Cadillac to a new standard that will keep us more than competitive as the decade progresses. It is a very exciting time to be a car designer and I am glad to be working with Cadillac on a new generation of cars that will redefine luxury in the automotive space. This article first appeared in Car Design Review 7. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The C8 rear end looked so much better in the concept than in the final product. Simpler is truly better! And they were within inches of avoiding "tacky" tail lights in exchange for decent ones. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ran across this 1969 concept car by Holden. Interesting story behind the idea and the restoration of the prototype. Lots of features we take for granted today. Image Unavailable, Please Login 1969 Holden Hurricane Concept Described as an experimental research vehicle ‘to study design trends, propulsion systems and other long range developments', the wedge-shaped, mid-engined Holden Hurricane was revealed in May 1969. Únlike modern show cars which tend to signpost directional design strategies, it was a pure flight of fancy. The two-passenger Hurricane displayed an array of gee whiz technology – much of it familiar now, but well beyond the horizon back then – such as electronic digital instrument displays, station-seeking radio, Comfortron automatic temperature control air conditioning and a Pathfinder automatic route indicator. Rear vision was provided by a CCTV screen in the console, connected to a wide-angle lens camera activated by the ignition. As its code name suggests, RD 001 was the first product of the GMH Research and Development section, staffed by a small squad of engineers working in conjunction with the Advanced Styling Group at the Fishermans Bend Technical Centre. https://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z8542/holden-hurricane-concept.aspx
I would say the C8 is the result you get after you for lack of a better word 'productionize' a wild design that is considered too extreme. The side is really well done on the silver car as the lines flow front to back and yet are tied together rather than just 3 'sections' joined... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Big sweeping fenders always seem to get chopped down once production contemplated!
Yes that was my first thought. The rear end didnt really change as far as design, it was just productionized/made into reality. To this day i dont understand why auto designers are doing these concepts that cant be produced. If i were in charge i wouldnt allow it. Everyone would need to sketch for production, not some fantasy land of stretched proportions that makes almost everything look cool.
You see the latest from Glickenhaus?? SCG 009 Concept Liquid Hydrogen. You can see where they got their inspiration for the overall shape. Atleast it's not all electric, although they consider LH cars to be EV as the LH motor drives power to the electric motors(so its really a hybrid). As the top battery engineers at the Argonne National Laboratory US battery research center have said there is only enough Lithium on earth to power 45-50% of the cars, so a backup plan is needed. Honda is having GM build their car platforms and Bosch doesn't want to invest in more all electric tech. Sounds like someone is starting to figure out the truth. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login With some of this thrown in for good measure? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thoughts from the narrative: Rubic Cube Tail Lights. LOL!! Maybe the Pontiac Aztec would have survived and gained icon status if it had been selected for the Back to the Future movie. Can you say "rubber baby buggy bumpers!
The one on the right looks like a grimacing face holding a telephone to its ear. The one on the left is more reassuring. All the best, Andrew.
I guess the custom designed font works! But I think this would be better for angry insect design battery cars. Image Unavailable, Please Login
