transportation
2010 DAAP Student Merit Finalists
This week, the top industrial design students from UC’s DAAP program presented their work as a part of the IDSA student merit awards. A group of professionals judged the work and selected Tracy Subisak to represent UC at the upcoming district conference in Grand Rapids. Having worked with all of these students, I’m sure it was a difficult decision, even just to narrow it down to this group of seven. This is an extremely talented group of soon-to-be graduates, and I wish them luck as they prepare for their capstone presentations at DAAPworks this June.
Drew Smith Responds to my Mazda 3 Love
A few weeks ago, I professed my love for the new Mazda 3 production, saying it was a great translation of the Nagare theme that Mazda has been using to impress car show attendees. To get a better perspective on the subject, I asked transportation design strategist Drew Smith for his thoughts on the subject. His comment was so thoughtful that I thought it deserved it’s own post. Here it is:
For me this car is a physical embodiment of the massive challenges that automotive designers face when translating a conceptual design language into something that can be produced to a (low) cost.
The whole Nagare series of cars was predicated on the development of a premium – read more expensive to produce – surface and form language that was designed to shift Mazda upmarket. A succesful, authentic production implementation was always going to rely on high levels of attention to detail and manufacturing skill.
With that in mind, I’m not sure that this implementation of the Nagare achieves those goals. Where the concept cars almost universally reminded me of the unbroken surface of a fast-flowing stream (carrying with it connotations of Japanese natural beauty etc.), the implementation on this vehicle is somewhat less high-minded and a lot of it comes down to the way cars are made.
If you separate front, middle and back of the car there are three different games being played.
At the front, it’s clear that they’re trying to cram in as much Nagare-ness as they can to get the facial recognition synapses firing in the prospective buyer. The front clip is actually the cheapest place to play with lots of form and depth, so it’s really no wonder they went to town with it. The fact that it comes across as pretty overdone, however, runs completely counter to the underlying theme of the Nagare – flow – language.
The side surfaces of the car are far more successful in communicating the intent of the language, with the crease in the lower door being particularly nice to let the eye linger on. Funnily enough, these are the most expensive surface to do well, and although they lack much of the magic of the show cars, they’re still nicely resolved.
The rear of the car is probably the biggest disappointment as it doesn’t really speak of anything intrinsically Mazda or Nagare and is an uncomfortable amalgam of many other cars. This isn’t a problem unique to Mazda, however.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my first run-in with the new Mazda 3. I thought it was a great translation of the Nagare design theme that Mazda has been using. To get a better perspective, I asked transporation design strategist Drew Smith for his thoughts on the subject:
They’re far from alone in letting the back of the car get away from them, as evidenced by the new Mercedes E-Class, a car that has almost no rear-end identity.
The front lamps, as you point out, do have some lovely detailing in them that support the theme, but a look at the rears shows none of the same deftness of touch. Similarly, the grille insert pattern is a nice little detail that is let down by the discordant crossbar and number plate placement.
At the end of all this, I come back to my opening statement. The car is representative of the massive challenges we face and the compromises that must be made to make something at a cost that the market can take. If Mazda hadn’t spent so many concepts teasing us with stunningly resolved surfaces, details and proportions, this car would not disappoint me nearly so much, as truth be told, it IS a good piece of production work.
The problem was that, as an industry tragic (and please, dear Strategic Aesthetics reader, remember that that is what I am. I am not a normal person 
), my expectations had been set much higher.
If I put my consumer hat on, I think you might have nailed it Michael. At the end of the day, Mazda is still (despite all their work to the contrary) as mainstream producer selling cars to mainstream consumers. And on that front, I think that the 3 provides a startling new face that deserves to do well in the market place.
I’m still holding out hope for a Mazda that really does justice to all their hard work, however. A new, electric RX-7 based on the Taiki would do nicely!
Thanks again, Drew!
DAAPworks 2009
Last week, the University of Cincinnati hosted it’s annual DAAPworks show, celebrating the work of the college’s graduating seniors. For the most part, I spent my time looking through the industrial design projects. From year to year the quality of the work can vary, and the 2009 ID graduates excelled in most categories. In particular, the first graduating class of UC’s Transportation Track showed off a nice collection of capstones. This is the first time, to my recollection, that UC has displayed both the quality and quantity of work that other top-level schools like Art Center and CCS put out consistently.
Clay Mastin
There’s no such thing as a typical ID project (VCR, fire axe) these days. Students attempt to solve problems around anything from soft goods to social media. While creating a mass produced product is still preferred by some critics, students unapologetically use their design skills to tackle whatever problem for which they’re passionate. Often times it is not a product at all. (This usually results in a great project or a terrible one, but that’s a different post altogether.)
Jenn Ashman
Amy Johannigman
Ampersand (Tim Karoleff & Shea Springer)
Vanessa Noritz
Besides ID, the show exhibits fine art, architecture, planning, graphic design, interior design, fashion design, and digital design. There is always inspirational projects outside of one’s own focus, and it’s great to walk the show in search of new perspective.
For more photos from the show, check out Flickr album.
Product Lust: 2010 Mazda 3
I can’t remember the last time I lusted after a product, but it was probably when I was in design school. When I parked next to a 2010 Mazda 3 sedan earlier this week I felt that familiar rush of adrenaline. For their latest version of the car, Mazda took a nicely proportioned vehicle and turned up the emotion by applying their Nagare design language. I’ve been paying attention to Mazda recently for their distinct point of view on aesthetics, and this is the first time I’ve seen their concept work come through clearly in a production vehicle.
Earlier this year, I interviewed Drew Smith about his favorite strategic auto brands, and he turned me on to Mazda’s concept work and its potential translation into production vehicles. Here’s what he had to say:
Mazda set out to achieve a truly unique Japanese sense of premium with these concepts and they achieved it, without question. The real difficulty has arisen when they have tried to translate key design elements into production vehicles and it suggests that either it’s too expensive to do properly or they aren’t trying hard enough! The grille of the new Mazda 3 MPS, for example, is meant to be a direct translation from the Nagare cars into the production realm. Sadly, it just ends up giving the car a rictus grin. No manufacturer in recent memory has spent so much money or, more importantly, design effort on creating such a beautiful series of cars based on a superbly strong design theme. My fear is, however, that if they can’t get really tangible examples into production soon, the effort will have been wasted.
To me, this stands as a good implementation of the Nagare look (check out the grill and lamp graphics) into something that will resonate with mainstream consumers. What do you think, Drew?
Check out Motor Authority for more coverage and photos.
UC Student Merit Awards
The University of Cincinnati recently hosted this year’s Student Merit Awards, where the top product and transportation design students presented their work to local professionals. Not only was the ID impressive, but my colleagues and I were all surprised by how polished the presentations were both visually and verbally. Congratulations to everyone who was selected to present, and to Hannah May for being chosen as the student to represent UC at the upcoming district IDSA conference. With work like this, I’m really looking forward to their capstone presentations at June’s DAAPworks.
Elizabeth Kern
Hannay May – Student Merit Winner
Lukas Yates
Jonny Wicks
Don Herzog
Jennifer Ashman
Thoughts on Auto Design Strategy, Interview with Drew Smith, Part 2
Thoughts on Auto Design Strategy, Interview with Drew Smith, Part 1
Drew Smith is an automotive design strategist and journalist. He offers a refreshing take on car design with his blog DownsideUpDesign. Strategic Aesthetics interviewed Drew to get a better understanding of the transportation design from a strategic point of view.
Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself. How did you become a transportation design strategist?
What carmaker has the best design strategy? Who is executing their strategy the best?
Putting my personal design taste aside there seems to me to be two companies that are currently doing well with regards to aesthetic strategy. The first is Audi. They have somewhat taken over the mantle that BMW, and to a lesser extent Mercedes, used to hold of producing highly consistent, infallibly well-resolved designs. It’s easy to argue that it’s not a highly visually innovative approach, but it has had an extremely positive impact on their sales figures. They have also stuck with core models and market positioning that build their brand image, rather than detract from it unlike BMW (5 GT, X6) and Mercedes (R-Class, CLC, GL). The premium market place is a highly conservative one and, by and large, premium consumers like a brand that doesn’t rock the boat too much.
As far as real design strategy is concerned, which, when it com es to the automotive industry is about looking at ways to solve both issues of long-term sustainability and urban mobility, nobody has really stepped up to the plate with a convincing, visible commitment. Toyota has been playing at the edges for a few years now with their iUnit/iSwing/Winglet concepts and BMW has outlined Project-i which will provide “premium” urban mobility solutions starting in 2015. From where I sit it’s still not enough. Toyota is aping the questionable Segway model, BMW is focusing on too small a customer group and nobody is taking a really hard look at the whole-of-life impact of building and selling new cars.
Mazda Kiyora brings concepts closer to production
If you haven’t been following Mazda design recently, they’ve been doing the most interesting and unique concept cars over the past few years. They’re getting close to some production vehicles that will reflect this approach with vehicles like the Kiyora. DownsideUpDesign provides great insight into Mazda’s design strategy:
Take a look at the section through the door…and it shows an ease of form that would have the guy that devised the old BMW Z4s front quarter panel laughing in your face. Thoroughly pressable and undeniably sexy.
What bodes well for Mazda is that the Kiyora is an alternative take on what a premium urban vehicle can be. Audi has the thoroughly orthodox A1, BMW the practical-looking (but highly impractical) Mini while Mercedes pursues the gussied-up MPV look in the form of the A Class.
Check out the whole article here. Mazda Kiyora images © Andrew Philip Artois Smith 2009.
Three Ways Saab Can Be Like Apple
Autocar recently reported that Saab will try to become the ‘Apple of car brands’ after they become independent from General Motors. I think this is a great idea, for two reasons. First, I don’t see a clear leader in terms of a holistic differentiation strategy in the auto industry. Sure, there are plenty of high quality products, but no brands truly differentiate across every touchpoint. Second, Saab has always had that je ne sais quoi that I think it will take to get there. But let’s be honest, this is an extremely lofty goal that won’t be achieved without some solid strategic thinking. Because I’m such a big fan of Saab, I offer up this advice:
#1 Brands like Apple need people like Steve Jobs
Solid brands require consistent, high quality interactions from top to bottom. The best brand leaves no room for error and then delivers on it. Execution of every Saab touchpoint will require a visionary who can stare in the face of naysayers (both internally and externally) and demand only the best from his team. Jobs’ ability to do these things is infamously captured, and Saab will need a leader who can provide this direction.
#2 Saab will need more than great products
It’s easy for designers to get caught up in Apple’s ability to create great products. We can then make the inaccurate correlation between simple, easy to use products and strong love for a brand. Design is only one of Apple’s strengths. Besides great products, Apple has a great business strategy, great marketing, and great human resource management to name a few other strengths. Without the handcuff of GM’s platforms, Saab can probably make some great products, but they’ll need to do much more to become a one of a kind brand.
#3 Independent thinking also needs to be relevant thinking
Don’t confuse Apple’s stream of recent innovations for novel ideas wrapped in cool styling. Each of Apple’s recent successes was carefully conceived to grow the brand in a specific direction that furthers their vertical integration. The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone weren’t just cool new products, they offered real benefits that users didn’t see coming but immediately understood. Especially in our current economy, Saab will need to aim their independent energy at the future needs of their audience.
Re*Move on Chris Bangle’s Departure
In the past 24 hours there has been plenty said about Chris Bangle’s departure from BMW Design, but my favorite coverage has been over at Re*Move. They’ve given some nice background info on Bangle and his work at BMW. Here’s an excerpt:
Bangle upturned not only BMW, but the entire auto industry in the early years of this decade, with his controversial car body surfacing treatment known as ‘flame surfacing’. The idea flies in the face of previous car design convention, because it creates concave surfaces in the body panels. Before Chris Bangle it was customary in car design to try to create only convex surfaced panels, because it was thought this not only gives cars an athletic, muscular look, but allows light fall to across the metal surface to be manipulated better by the designer to create the highlights. The old school reckoned this contributed to the human eye’s perception of how a car looks.
Whether you like or hate his work is not the point here. What is important is that the design (and business) world retain visionaries capable of making some people unhappy in order to make others feel great. We can’t be all things to all people and Bangle certainly understood that. His work at BMW has proven the value of strategic aesthetics, introducing the brand to new customers and helping to grow their business.
Read the rest of what Re*Move had to say here.
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