Automotive Design
Automotive design
Automotive design is a complicated discipline. Although primarily concerned with the appearance of a vehicle, it is governed by various factors including security, safety and engineering - all of which have their own set of specialists. This means that as well as designing to very high standards, automotive designers must have excellent teamworking and communication skills, say Chris Clements and Dr Samantha Porter.
Automotive design encompasses almost every aspect of a vehicle’s design that is readily visible to the customer - from the seats and steering wheel through to the door trims and the dashboard. There are many different makes of vehicle and design is used to bring a degree of distinctiveness to the aesthetics of a model, to make it stand out from the competition and meet consumer expectations.
What influences automotive design?
Various considerations influence the design of a car. These include:
• Branding - this takes into account a consumer’s taste and lifestyle aspirations and ensures the product is distinct enough to be desirable
• Usability - a car must be comfortable and easy to use
• Security - this includes theft prevention and pedestrian safety
• Sustainability - this concerns issues like durability, recyclability and emissions
• Engineering - everything from engineering packaging, materials, methods of manufacture to constraints of production methods and surface refinement
Team working
The automotive design and production process is a multidisciplinary one. The entire team can consist of more than 500 people making effective communication crucial. The process must be highly disciplined with regular gateways (check-points) and targets set to measure how efficiently the different disciplines are working together. An efficient set-up can substantially reduce development time and costs. Communication tools used by the teams throughout the process include CAD, verbal skills, negotiation skills, telecommunications,
Automotive design is a complicated discipline. Although primarily concerned with the appearance of a vehicle, it is governed by various factors including security, safety and engineering - all of which have their own set of specialists. This means that as well as designing to very high standards, automotive designers must have excellent teamworking and communication skills, say Chris Clements and Dr Samantha Porter.
Automotive design encompasses almost every aspect of a vehicle’s design that is readily visible to the customer - from the seats and steering wheel through to the door trims and the dashboard. There are many different makes of vehicle and design is used to bring a degree of distinctiveness to the aesthetics of a model, to make it stand out from the competition and meet consumer expectations.
What influences automotive design?
Various considerations influence the design of a car. These include:
• Branding - this takes into account a consumer’s taste and lifestyle aspirations and ensures the product is distinct enough to be desirable
• Usability - a car must be comfortable and easy to use
• Security - this includes theft prevention and pedestrian safety
• Sustainability - this concerns issues like durability, recyclability and emissions
• Engineering - everything from engineering packaging, materials, methods of manufacture to constraints of production methods and surface refinement
Team working
The automotive design and production process is a multidisciplinary one. The entire team can consist of more than 500 people making effective communication crucial. The process must be highly disciplined with regular gateways (check-points) and targets set to measure how efficiently the different disciplines are working together. An efficient set-up can substantially reduce development time and costs. Communication tools used by the teams throughout the process include CAD, verbal skills, negotiation skills, telecommunications,