Some very cool design & art work from a former car designer: http://www.deansgarage.com/2019/john-bell-designer-artist/
I just stumbled across the 2019 Acura ILX and IMHO these are the most gorgeous headlights on the road- almost like a piece of jewelry. Certainly an advancement over the current "random projectors under glass" treatment. Any other nominations for cool headlights? Image Unavailable, Please Login
The headlamps/taillamps are one of the last areas where creativity & technology & design are all making a statement in vehicle design. There are so many cool headlamps out there now, each company is trying to outdo the other.
Bentley GT crystal headlights Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Maybe what we are starting to see is a case of "what goes around comes around." For example, on my wall art deco automotive sculpture, I am using Shaler Roadlighter lenses. A bit along the lines of what Bentley has designed. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I’m old enough to remember when all we could use was a single round lamp or 2 sizes of rectangular lamps. I once had a lighting engineer tell me composite lamps would NEVER be legal in the US. I’d like to find that Bozo today!
And I remember when there was only one size of round headlight (in the US). No smaller quad rounds, no rectangular... 'Consumer Reports' wrote a big article against allowing any rectangular lights, and I think lobbied DOT. Loved my round Cibie Z-beams... H4. Great looking lens. And light pattern.
In the 1970s, I recall GM starting to put square bezels around headlights to "square" them up before the rectangular ones made it onto the scene. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Before I came on the scene......... But I do remember the transition to the square lamps several years later
2019 Renault Clio design proposals Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Design vs. Styling : https://www.formtrends.com/design-vs-styling/?fbclid=IwAR3O9NXQMSN0ygknhH-Z9ilRxXUAceGrVpF0-18AHXzoa91tBVfbjHQz1bY
What are the Fchat car designers thoughts on convertibles, old and new ? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
As a design statement, most designers will tell you that the closed/coupe versions of most cars are usually better looking..........as a design statement. Personally I tend to agree with that premise. HOWEVER, I have owned convertible/targa versions of all the Ferraris I've had, in spite of the fact that the coupe versions usually looked better. In the case of the 458/488 you have the best of both worlds, Coupe/Convertible. There's nothing like having the top down, hearing the exhaust roar, in spite of the fact that the closed version probably looks better. Just my personal POV.
The GT500 would have looked a lot better if they had gotten closer to this look of a levitating angular grill. They didn’t get close enough and it looks like an Audi. The GT350 is way better.
Just read that 2,300 at GM took the voluntary work force reduction but about 4,000 are going to get cut next week. How many out of Design? Any notables?
From what I read it sounds like the 2,300 (overall) have already made their decision to wander down the road. The remaining 4,000 are about to find out, if they haven't already that they are being thrown to the curb. At one time GM had the best clay modeler team. Unfortunately that special expertise has taken a significant hit in the past and is likely to be further decimated this time around. Clay modelers can make a good design not so much but the good modelers can bail a designer out (if the designer will listen).
There is going to be a mass exodus of some very talented and experienced people. What once was, is no longer. For me, watching all this unfold is like watching a train wreck.
Train wreck? No. This is the intentional squandering of the legacy that made GM. Maybe, someday some B school will do a review of just how "corporate leadership" pissed away Design's future by their own ineptitude. Of course for that study to be useful they would have to reject that an MBA's stack of numerical data means less than the critical eye. That might be a bridge too far for them.
Ferrari Design: from Ferrari Magazine https://magazine.ferrari.com/en/passion/2019/01/14/news/ferrari-architecture-centro-stile-new-design-centre-maranello-factory-52050/ Passion, imagination, desire... all these elements inspire Ferrari designers when drawing the world’s most beautiful dream machines. Their task has now been made easier, with the opening of the new ‘Centro Stile’ at Maranello. Inaugurated last September, the new design centre is where the Ferrari cars of tomorrow take shape today. Located on Viale Enzo Ferrari, at the heart of the Ferrari factory, it brings under one – spectacular – roof all Maranello’s design-related activities. Now, the 100-plus designers and automotive engineers – as well as the chassis model workshop, Tailor Made area, and Ateliers – are all together. Image Unavailable, Please Login The Design Centre's bright terrace is the perfect place to view new models in natural light Photo: Fabrizio Giraldi The eye-catching building, opposite the Ferrari company canteen, (itself an architectural jewel designed by Marco Visconti), amounts to an avant-garde, four-storey, 5,000 square-metre ‘compact sculpture’. The whole structure is enclosed by a ‘double skin’ mesh whose outer façade consists of over 3,000 triangle-shaped glass and aluminium modules. A giant prancing horse logo decorates the building’s exterior. Under the direction of the Ferrari Design team – driven by Head of Design, Flavio Manzoni – the architectural project was designed by Design International of London, led by Davide Padoa, in co-operation with Planning engineering studio of Bologna. The structure’s exterior – evoking the dynamic lines of Ferrari sports cars – is an eye-catching combination of concave and convex surfaces. Image Unavailable, Please Login A 'Piloti Ferrari' 488 Pista, in the new Centro Stile entrance hall, greets visitors and workers alike Photo: Fabrizio Giraldi The geometric outer mesh, alternating between glass and stretched anodised aluminium, lends the whole structure a floating feel. The building makes as much use as possible of natural lighting: from the open-space layout of the first floor – where designers and virtual modellers collaborate - to the large conference room on the second floor, which features a full-wall LED. The second floor has a terrace where full-scale models of future cars can be viewed. Secrecy is a necessity, of course, so here is where the building’s outer ‘skin’ comes into play, acting as a shield that lets in light but keeps out prying eyes. Particular attention has been given to the Modelleria, where full-scale models are shaped by digitally-controlled milling machines, operated by a team of expert artisans, before undergoing meticulous hand finishing. The Tailor Made and the Atelier permit clients access to a wide range of customisation options. The colour palette offers no less than 20 different hues for the vehicle body alone. In the Ateliers, clients can also choose the style and tints of the wheel rims and brake callipers, accompanying them – for example – with carbon-fibre bodywork features. Image Unavailable, Please Login A Ferrari Monza SP1in the new Tailor Made area, where clients can customise their carsPhoto: Fabrizio Giraldi ‘Personal Designers’ guide clients in choosing from various combinations of materials – the finest fabrics, leathers, and woods. All this renders each individual car truly unique. After interpreting a client’s desires, the Personal Designer shows him or her real-time, virtual previews of the finished vehicle. The Tailor Made area also offers a space dedicated to the colour and trim of the seats, where clients can select and match materials: from luxurious cashmere to trendy denim as well as high-tech, innovative carbon fibre. With all these personalisation possibilities, clients can obtain a level of exclusivity that is absolutely unprecedented in the automotive sector. And all now much easier – and more pleasant – in the confines of the new Centro Stile, where both Ferrari designers and clients can experience the full passion of the Prancing Horse. Image Unavailable, Please Login 14 January 2019
