Automobile Designers – artists who design what the world travels in

Automobile Designers are highly imaginative souls who take forward their vision from a rough, concept sketch right through to the showroom floor. They not only define the aesthetics of an automobile, but also the functional aspects such as dashboard, seating, cabin interiors, boot space – every minute detail has to be taken care of.

However, their profile is much more complex as they need to develop a deep understanding of psychological and emotional issues connected to the concept of transportation and vehicles. They need to understand how users learn, recall, think; about their attitudes, as well as perceptions. They also need to design vehicles based on age groups, culture, and social groups.

While designing the right look for an automobile, they also need to consider several other factors such as cost of production, manufacturing limitations, ease of use, comfort, safety and environmental issues. Therefore, an automobile designer works on different levels.

Designers also need to be aware of everything around them, each an every development that takes place in the society. Life-changing trends such as globalization, technological advancements, global warming, economic and political changes, impact the society and influence the future.

And it doesn’t just stop there. Their next big task is to convince everyone around them: stakeholders, engineers, colleagues, co-designers – why they think their design is worth investing millions of dollars.

Automobile designers are artists and have similar temperament as artists. They are moody, like beautiful things and hang out with the ‘hip’ crowd.

We list here some of the famous, really cool Automobile Designers.

Harley Earl – This great man was the very founder of the automobile design profession in America. He was also the inventor of the Concept Car idea, and the creator of America’s, Small Car Trend. His protégés include greats like William Mitchell (General Motors), Richard Teague (American Motors), Eugene Bordinat (Ford Motor Company), and Elwood Engel (Chrysler Corp). He changed the face of General Motors.

Ian Cullum – After spending 11 years with Ford, he joined a small organization, TWR Design. “Some of my colleagues came to see me from Ford, and I’d walked away from this giant studio at Dunton, the corporation, all that stuff, into this little tin shed in Kidlington. They thought I was utterly mad. But I was as happy as could be, I was doing something I wanted to do.” He has designed some of the most popular cars such as Aston Martin DB7, Aston Martin Vanquish and Nissan R390. Presently, he heads the design division at Jaquar.

Frank Stephenson – Frank Stephenson, who is best known for BMW Mini, graduated from the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. He has worked with the biggest automobile makers, including BMW, Ferrari, and presently Fiat.

Luc Donckerwolke – Luc Donckerwolke is the Belgian car designer whose stunning works includes the Lamborghini Murcielago and Gallardo. Presently he heads the design division at SEAT. He has also worked on Skoda Octavia, Fabia, few Audi models, and currently, SEAT Tribu and Ibiza.

Walter Maria de’Silva – Walter Maria de’Silva, the Italian car designer, currently heads Volkswagen’s Design team. Previously, he has worked with automobile giants such as Fiat and Alfa Romeo. He is the vision behind many great cars such as Alfa Romeo 145/146, SEAT Salsa and Tango, Audi Nuvolari Quattro, Volkswagen Polo, and Lamborghini Miura concept.

Martin Smith – Martin Smith, like every other boy was a car fanatic from a very early age. He wrote letters to Mini designer Alec Issigonis asking how to become a car designer. He is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, London. He is mostly known for his excellent work on Audi Quattro. He has worked with big names like Ford and General Motors. HE started his career in 1973 as a designer for Porsche AG.

Chris Bangle – Bangle is easily one of the most influential designers of the 21st century. He is best known for his work as Chief of Design at BMW group. He has previously worked with Opel and Fiat. He designed the Z9 Gran Turismo concept car, a futuristic vehicle that still has heads turning.

An article in Motor Trend’s article says:

“Love or loathe his work, Bangle’s impact on auto design has been profound. No other designer, not even legendary GM design chief Harley Earl, has so rapidly become a part of the industry lexicon.”[1]

Every designer is different. None of their work can be compared to each other. And just like in art, car design too, is subjective. Some like a particular design and some don’t. But every designer, just like artists, has work that does tremendously well, but also has work that is highly criticized.