How about an assignment to design the future of autonomous vehicles used for carpool ride sharing? Mini-Bus/Maxi-Taxi Capacity 6-8? We can't all be high rollers with a subscription to our own private auto-pod. I imagine there is a potential market for shared vehicles with larger passenger capacity that is used in carpool fashion.
With no sponsor, and with the current proliferation of new car companies, particularly electric car companies, I would have them develop the concept of a new car company. The new company would require a target customer and a strong brand image. The type of car designed could be driven by the company concept. If a student wants to do a hypercar, they would need to develop a company concept that would differentiate them from Ferrari, McLaren etc. Their design would then need to capture the essence of what makes their car company unique. It would be interesting to have them develop the company before deciding what type of car they were designing. In other words, instead of having them thinking "I want to make a hypercar, how do I create my company around that", they would be thinking "This is what my car company's goals and objectives are, what kind of car fulfills these goals".
This is excellent. I want them to think & problem solve, as well as 'style' a car. The limited 15 week time frame is the only issue. They spend the 2nd half of the semester building their models, so the1st half would be the cerebral/problem solving phase. The importance of the 'brand' can't be stressed enough. Developing a new brand is a challenge in itself.
I know that.......i'm interested to see how the students would handle a nontraditional company producing a vehicle.
I was also thinking along these lines. Great minds, etc….. How about creating what the Aztek would look like in 2050? Of course, Aztek and 2050 is a bit of an oxymoron. The implied assumption in such a statement is that "gross is good" had the car endured for 50 years. I'm throwing this idea out (knowing the students have a building portfolio book of their work) as it could stimulate conversation during job interviews. This project could be entitled something like "Evolution of the Aztek over 50 Years Had it Endured." My thoughts for the assignment: * Research the original Aztek from a design and marketing standpoint * Lessons learned and opportunities missed; target market, market segment, competitors, safety regs, etc that would have shaped the product into 2020 * Make the assumption that GM corrected course and the car successfully continued for the next 50 years * Design the 2050 Aztek using design cues from the original that shows evolution over time. Not a "retro car." * In the rendering, show the 2000 Aztek along with the 2050 newly designed model for comparison * Be prepared to discuss design cues from the original Aztek and contemporary small SUVs today that led to various design elements presented for 2050 There have been lots of good projects proposed here for the students. Maybe they could be given a choice of several projects, A, B, or C to in order that the assignment be something they could get passionate about rather than something mundane.
Sorry for the delayed input. I would want to see the students work under the premise that they have to come up with a compelling aesthetic design; pretty and cohesive. Opposite of the idea that it is good to just keep throwing more and more lines and surface ripples. Of course they want to do a sports car but that is too easy. I would also argue that other than being fun it probably won't get them hired. A 4 door sedan is too boring as the package pretty much sets most of what is going to happen. I think back to the sporty 2+2s of Capri, Opel Manta, Scirocco and even the Mustang II. A niche where there is leeway in the package. That market concept was about good looking (distinctive) without being the macho machine in a smaller package than all the pony cars. The other possibility is to create the halo big car. Give them the surface area to play out design treatments. Make a statement. Think of the Cadillac show cars, the recent Mercedes. Stop them dead in their track that it is special. Maybe, as Dixon suggests, it is not a current company so this sets a new heritage.
YES! This would especially be the case with the "Pebble Beach" project. No more ugliness by design (angry appliances). Beauty, like see at Pebble Beach, would be the goal. But also with any of the other projects too. Bring a simplified, beautiful aesthetic to the solution. Hard to do; if it were easy beautiful automobile design would be everywhere. But damn it, designers of all kinds seemed to have forgotten this. -F
It seems to me that most, if not all, of the most beautiful designs have one thing in common; simplicity. The '55 Chevy, '65 Riviera, W126 Mercedes, E34 BMW, '67 Camaro, '61 Lincoln, '57 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, Ferrari 250 GTE, Fiat 130, Peugeot 404 Coupé, etc. Like Furmano said, "no more angry appliances." Whether round, square, taught or heavy (1980s/90s Bentley Mulsanne), it needs to be kept as simple as can be done while still keeping a strong identity.
Define the problem............and we’ll have them provide the solutions. But I do agree with your premise. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Simplicity. But they have to have their own voice.
By "define the problem," I assume you mean in reference to the assignment? Perhaps something on the order of picking a brand and creating the simplest design that still screams brand identity?
Yes, simplicity. But also proportions. Proportions are very, very, very important. But just to underline the point, simplicity, good design, the right proportions, the right level of details, all of this is actually pretty difficult to pull off. -F
I have been told the story that during the development of the second generation Firebird John DeLorean would come into the study for reviews and exhort the designers to make the car as pretty as a Maserati Ghibli. I would expect that if the direction during the design process by the students keeps reinforcing this message then "angry insect" proposals won't be around to the end. My thinking is that this could be an opportunity to push the students to take a different approach from what they are normally seeing as their references. The challenge will be how to define pretty in a language that is not recycling 1960s and early 1970s idioms or retro.
True story: many years ago, my boss was in Italy at Pininfarina evaluating a design PF was doing for us. My boss was quite vocal about all the 'issues' the design had and was adding suggestions for how to fix said issues. Finally Sergio PF said 'stop'. Tell us what you see is wrong or needs work and let US fix it. Don't tell us how to fix it. Never forgot that lesson. So in my classes, i try to explain to the students what I see as areas for potential design improvements.........then let them go away and solve said opportunities, rather than having me solve the issues.
A telling story that, if not heeded, leads to designing camels. Story is that the designs by Pf for Ferrari ending with the 550 were left to a simple up or down approval vote. That allowed the design to remain pure to the design vision.
To speed up the brand concept phase, you could come up with a number of brand directions and have the students pull the direction from a hat. This would add some theoretical limits but allow them to still chose the type of vehicle as long as they can align their vehicle concept with the brand direction.
Separately, regarding a new electric car company, Tesla sure looks like something special right now. However, within a decade from now, Tesla will probably be destroyed by GM, Volvo, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, MB, and the Chinese. -F
Seems to be a rather voluminous back story to picking a design topic. It should entice and enthrall rather than feel like you are reading War & Peace. I get the beauty part; especially classic beauty that doesn't rely on obvious tricks. So one direction is smooth and the other direction is sharp and see who comes out on top. Choose a design they would be comfortable using themselves. That would make a meaningful personal visual design statement rather than outfitting THE Jetsons needs. Hopefully we will hear how it all works out for them! my 2 cents Image Unavailable, Please Login
