AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN BRIDGING THE GAP
Louise Davis discovers how an automotive design firm is deploying “phygital” tools that blend physical and digital design elements for a forward-thinking approach to vehicle development
W
hen well-known automotive design expert Lowie Vermeersch opened
his own studio in 2011, he adopted a future-focused approach from the off. What the ex-Pininfarina design director perhaps couldn’t have predicted back then was the rapid pace of digital transformation that would occur over the following years and that Vermeersch has since embraced as an enabling solution to set his company’s work apart from other players in the field. Vermeersch is CEO and Design
Director of Granstudio. He explains that his work today involves a focus on two distinct areas: “For some automotive design projects, we act as a turnkey design supplier, taking responsibility for the design process from start to finish. The Lightyear 0 (a long-range solar electric car) and the Drako Dragon (a new type of hypercar) are recent examples of this kind of collaboration,” he says. “In other projects, we collaborate more like a creative partner, working almost as an integrated part of our clients’ team, adding value, capacity and competencies where needed. Our latest collaboration with Lynk&Co is a good example of this integrated way of collaborating. Together, we created a mixed team to work on a conceptual family car.”
FOLLOWER OF FASHION Working on such a range of different projects means that Granstudio is adept at following the latest trends and helping its clients respond to these. Andrea Berardi, the firm’s Automotive Design Director, says that: “Right now, the automotive industry is undergoing considerable transformations driven
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by technological advancements, environmental concerns and changing consumer preferences. It follows that the approach to design changes as well.” Berardi says the biggest trends now include electric vehicles, where designers are increasingly focusing on combining aerodynamics with aesthetics to create vehicles with good-looking shapes while improving range and reducing drag. “Sustainability is another substantial matter that is changing not only the conception of vehicles and mobility but also the vehicle design process itself,” Berardi notes. “And connectivity is also a big one. Cars are becoming more like smartphones on wheels. Cars are always connected, always updating and always improving. This means designing interfaces that are intuitive and engaging, ensuring drivers (and passengers) can easily interact with the car’s tech without getting overwhelmed. Life on board and interiors look
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