A particular characteristic of the way that automotive design operates is the complete integration of the design team in the business process. The design team is involved from the inception of the product right through to its launch and is an essential part of the automotive manufacturing business.
The design team will have specific influence on the following areas of the automotive manufacturing process:
- Marketing – the design team holds the key to the power of the brand and can help visualise it
- Finance – the design team determines how to share the money between aesthetics, engineering, ergonomics, marketing and the other disciplines involved
- Engineering – the design and engineering teams have to work alongside one another to achieve a balance between form and function
Automotive design is important because it:
- Influences - the look of a vehicle has the power to define, modify, or change a brand in the eyes of the customer
- Communicates - the appearance of the vehicle is the first thing that the customer sees and on that basis they make the decision to investigate further or to walk away
- Changes - a design can be evolutionary, trendsetting, revolutionary, shocking or a mixture of these things
- Deceives - a vehicle’s appearance can communicate a massive step forward that isn’t matched by its technical content
Automotive design is directly relevant to automotive manufacturers and related industries, but the nature of the discipline may also be of interest to business decision makers in other areas of design.
Remember, automotive design isn’t all glamour. The challenges are many and varied - from designing sustainably through to meeting safety requirements.
The complexity of the product
The car is one of the most complex products available for consumer purchase. It has a greater number of functional attributes than a static design object and, as such, requires several teams of specialists to work on its production. In order not to destabilise the timing and cost of the design and development process it is essential that the automotive designer is capable of efficiently and convincingly communicating his or her needs with the other specialists.
Designing for safety
Pedestrian protection regulations present a major challenge to the designer both in terms of basic vehicle proportion and body sculpture. Directives have been issued and studios are currently working to the new constraints. The areas most severely affected are front overhang and the height of the bonnet.
Component sharing
It is now common automotive practice to use the same platforms and components for two or more different vehicles, and the design challenge is to differentiate the vehicles from each other to ensure that the platform commonality is not recognised by the customer.
Reducing waste
The End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive (2000/53/EC) aims to reduce the amount of waste generated by cars destined for scrap. The greatest implications of this legislation are for engineering but it also impacts upon the design of both the exterior and interior of passenger cars.
BMW is leading the way so far, offering a free take-back service to owners of BMW, Rolls-Royce and Mini vehicles whose cars have come to the end of their natural life. All the vehicles undergo an environmentally friendly disposal process that ensures that 85% of the vehicle will be recovered and recycled.
Find out more about End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulations on the DTI website