if you walk through an average shopping mall and watch the products offered it seems that the average consumer does not care too much about design for everyday products.
however when it comes to automobiles the picture looks much different. according to my perception automobile design becomes more and more a key differentiator beside technological features. this is very obvious if you have a look at the current range of competitors in the so called “Golf Class” which is the lower midsize car segment in the auto industry.
while japanese cars from manufacturers like Toyota, Nissan, Mazda or Honda usually have been renowned for their mediocre design approach but high quality in manufacturing in recent years japanese automobile design definitively has managed to catch up with european manufacturers.
one of the key players in japanese car design and probably more known in the US is Jerry Hirshberg. I’ve been able to meet him at a DMI conference in 1999 where he was the keynote speaker presenting his latest book: “The Creative Priority. Driving Innovative Business in the Real World.”
Hirshberg was the founding director of design of Nissan Design International (NDI), which was established in La Jolla, California in 1979. Hirshberg joined the company in 1980 and left it in 2001 as its president. Jerry Hirshberg believes that great design is fundamental to the success of any organization. Nowadays, companies ranging from nike to the gap are listening to the message of a man who has had a whole lot to do with the transformation of design in the auto industry.
read the article “Managing Design Management” about his ideas and projects in “automotive design & production” written by editor-in-chief Gary S. Vasilash. >>>