Nissan has just released a video that tries to go some way towards explaining the early part of the creative process of styling a new model, and making its design have flow, continuity and actual meaning.
The idea is that if you design a car with no real inspiration in mind, in the form of an object (preferably of natural origin), you can look at, turn around and examine, you will end up with a SsangYong Rodius, or a pre-facelift Mercedes-Benz R-Class…
“Objects for us designers are very important. They allow us to communicate very well our design intention and to keep that intention all along the project,” says Francois Farion, senior manager, Nissan color and design strategy. He adds that “the objects – we have to look for them and find them everywhere. To work like this in 3D, gathering objects and putting them together in a meaningful way, is really unique to Nissan as far as I know.”
Farion, who is the host of the video, goes into more detail on how this way of thinking affects their entire brand, and why some of their cars look a bit odd. For instance, the inspiration for the Cube was apparently a bulldog wearing sunglasses, and we all know the classic story of how the Juke’s center console was modeled after a motorbike gas tank – too bad they chose a praying mantis that had been crossed with some sort of goofy-looking plump exotic fish.
By Andrei Nedelea
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VIDEO