Car Design Fetish

A recent trend in auto design has emerged in the “catfish gills” aesthetic.  Aston’s One-77, Maserati’s GT concept, and Citroen’s recent concepts all incorporate it.  Well, they weren’t the first.  Back in 1956 Pontiac debuted the Club de Mer, a drop-top concept that actually looks modern even by today’s standards.

Take a look at the Pontiac, and click the “Read More” link to see the other, more modern versions of the theme.

[image courtesy Automobile Magazine]

[EDIT: Image courtesy of Auto Age magazine, not Automobile.]

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It takes a designer to come up with truly wacky ideas.  And we love ourselves for that talent.

So, along comes Jason Freeny and his bag of illustration to give us something that may make our Thanksgiving Turkey come back up.  Ever wonder what’s inside a Lego man?  Well, look no further…

For a look at the insides of a gummi bear and a balloon dog, read on.

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In our continuing series of FOX-style programming, we examine three more cases of design studios going rouge, designing things OTHER than automobiles (GASP!) while they have some down time during this wonderful economic period we have at the moment.

As designers, we take every opportunity possible to put our own spin on a product design and aesthetic.  Come along for the journey as we take a look at three more efforts by our auto design comrades.

The Pininfarina xten Office Chair

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Starting off with a sideview when sketching a car is always a smart thing to do.  Now how you translate that to an actual vehicle, in actual 3-D, with an actual design theme can be a bit of a challenge.

The Lexus Nuaero is a sweet-looking side view.  Translated into a full-on vehicle doesn’t work so well.  The idea behind this concept from student Jon Rådbrink is of a new, highly aerodynamic philosophy that works like a hydrofoil on land.  While it actually does have some Lexus brand in it, it also tends to sway towards the less-believable side and delve into wishful thinking.

Once again, great sideview sketch.  I like the sensual lines that define the body silhouette (something that Lexus has lost over the years as it became a Lincoln/Caddy fighter) and the ovular glass reveals the occupant in a nice way, but the interior is lacking that extra finesse that the exterior does.  A little more work and this could’ve been a great perspective sketch as well, but not yet.  Some tweaking is needed.

Well look at that: TWO Sketch Pr*n updates today!

Seeing as it is Thanksgiving and all, we should be thankful for Adobe Illustrator, as it has blessed us with these beautiful BMW bike renderings.  (Okay, there is probably a little Photoshop mixed in for good measure).  And when we say beautiful, we mean BEAUTIFUL!  These renedrings are absolutely gorgeous!  They’re all side views, but then again, the side view is the best starting point of any sketch and shows more emotion than one would imagine.

Go ahead, ogle these.  You know you love them!  We’ve posted a few of our favorites after the jump… visit AutoBlog for the complete gallery.

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Mazda today release some new/old sketches & images of the Mazda3 development process, showcasing the sketches that lead up to the Mazda3… specifically those that didn’t make the cut.

In the images, you can definitely see that Mazda hadn’t adopted the Nagare theme early on as well as it did in the final vehicle.  Some sketches depict a Mazda6-ish styling theme, while others almost have an Acura-esque feel to them.  Done in mixtures of Photoshop, Alias, and on paper the sketch techniques are quite varied.

Regardless of what you think of the final design, these sketches are not only great to look at but also portray a bit of Mazda styling history.

Enjoy.

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Okay, okay.  It’s been a month.  Or two.  Face it: it can be hard to consistently find Design-related websites that are new each time.  But the Web of the Week is back!  This week’s website is Dezeen.com, a site about architecture and design projects from around the world.  Utilizing new media to talk about the projects, Dezeen creates bog posts, videos and more.  The job listings are a nice touch, exposing visitors to more than just the typical product or auto design career.

The site does a nice job topic variety, focusing on modern design, auto, graphic, sound, and international work.  Event listings are a-plenty, as Dezeen works to give as much information on unique industry-related events as possible.

In their own words:

Our mission is simple: to bring you news of great projects before anyone else. Dezeen was launched at the end of November 2006 and has grown rapidly to become one of the most popular and influential architecture and design blogs on the internet.

Take a look at Dezeen.com and enjoy the globally-focused site.

If there is one event we look forward to every year around NAIAS time, it is the annual Design Forum hosted by AutoWeek.  The event brings together Creatives from all aspects of the industry and focuses on our important contributions to the automotive world.

Blame the recent perils of the industry, then, for the postponement of 2009′s Design Forum.  The magazine will work towards future events, including the 2010 Design Forum.

Here is the official word from AutoWeek:

The announcement was made late last week to postpone the 2009 AutoWeek Design Forum. AutoWeek remains dedicated to the design world and it’s influence on the automotive industry and because of this, will continue to move forward in planning future programs, including the 2010 AutoWeek Design Forum.

It’ll be a shame that we won’t have it this year, but we’re still hopeful that Design will again be front and center in 20-10.

Stay tuned to AutoWeek.com for Design Forum info.

Photoshop.  Autostudio.  Painter.  Illustrator.

We all have our favorite software to design with.  Each one is a versatile tool that, when used correctly, affects not only the visual communication of a design but the design itself.

Jason Morris, professor at Western Washington University’s ID department, compiled a research study (based on job postings on IDSA’s employment section of their Perspectives newsletter) over the last year & a half or so (March ’07 to Oct ’08) to deduce which pieces of software are most crucial, most used, and most demanded in our little industry.  Now, the software used obviously changes depending on what part of the industry you design in, whether it is product, automotive, interface, etc, but the compiled list is a great generalization of the most prominent across all disciplines.

The champ of design software?  Adobe Illustrator, by a slim margin over Photoshop.  The top 3-D modelling software is Solidworks, which is gaining momentum in the Design industry.

Check out the full details of Morris’ study here.

Finally Mazda is tapping into the success of their Nagare themed concept cars. The new Mazda 6 is a great looking car but the new 3 begins to show signs of the future. The Mazda brand has done a great job defining their future one car at a time. Each new model is taking the language one step farther. The Zoom Zoom slogan is beginning to come to the surface.

The current Mazda 3 has always been a nice car, but it certainly didn’t have any emotion. Seeing these two versions side by side shows how much character has been injected into the new design. Overall the new 3 is a great looking car, but it does have some issues…. Read the rest of this entry »