The Future Of Design

WHO BETTER TO GUEST EDIT OUR FIRST DESIGN ISSUE THAN A TITAN OF THE MODERN INDUSTRY? HERE, EX-JAGUAR DESIGNER IAN CALLUM PROVIDES AN INSIGHT INTO WHY AN UNPRECEDENTED ERA OF CHANGE OFFERS MOUTH-WATERING OPPORTUNITY

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ALTHOUGH I REFLECT on it a lot, when Alex Inwood asked me to write on the future of car design, I wondered where to begin. The rate of change is astonishing, and that’s a huge challenge for younger designers. It’ll be difficult for them because the car industry is in a state of unknowing, and that dissipates right down through the business. This offers either a state of confusion or of opportunity. The smarter designers will see the latter, and from that, they can actually influence the future.

That’s because designers are in a greater position than ever to act as agents of change. I will get challenged on this but there’s nobody else in the business who knows more about the car. Perhaps you can make a case for the chief engineer or the vehicle line director, but take any interior or exterior part and ask them about the story of that part. Nobody knows the backstory of that part more intimately than the designer. This unique role in the business means that the design team needs to be involved at the very start of product planning, to bring the passion and the energy to push hard for what they think is right.

We can take it as read that electric cars are inevitable. There’s a state of opportunity, where the design team need to become crystal-ball gazers and make some fundamental choices. It really is betting the farm. Volkswagen has been quite clear about this as a result of Dieselgate. They’re going to go electric big time. Is that the right choice or is it an overreaction? I like to think that it’s a sound choice because I’m a great believer in these sorts of products. Whether the infrastructure can cope is an entirely different discussion.