- BMW is revamping its design team, bringing in new talent to refresh its styling direction.
- Polestar’s Maximilian Missoni joins BMW to guide its design towards a more refined look.
- The overhaul brings leadership changes and a new focus on cleaner, simpler design.
It’s hard to pinpoint where BMW’s current design, em, controversy, began. But if you’re left with a sickening feeling whenever the Bavarian automaker announces a new car — a feeling that more often than not turns into existential dread once the covers are pulled off — well, this news may provide a small glimmer of hope. The German automaker has just announced a significant shakeup of its design department.
Several top members of BMW’s design team are set for a major cabinet reshuffle. While BMW Group’s head of design, Adrian van Hooydonk remains in charge, larger changes are to be applied to the various subdivisions under him.
Read: BMW’s Head Of Design Promises “Cleaner” Styling In The Future, But Stands By Current Direction
For starters, Maximilian Missoni will be appointed head of design for the upper middle class (think 3-series and up), luxury class, and Alpina models. This move introduces fresh blood to BMW’s design team. Missoni is currently listed as the head of Polestar design, a position he’s held since 2018.
The award-winning Missoni is credited with creating the sleek design language seen within the Volvo spin-off brand. The current crop of Polestar offerings has arguably captured the essence of Scandinavian design while being distinctive enough to be recognized as something unique. Before that, he served as the Vice President of Exterior Design at Volvo, with a stint at Volkswagen early in his career.
Meanwhile, Domagoj Dukec, who currently heads BMW Design studio, is transitioning to BMW-owned Rolls Royce, including Bespoke and Coachbuild. Dukec has been unapologetic in his big grille’d design direction for BMW. While acknowledging the flak that he and the brand have caught, the BMW design chief has likened the current era of BMW’s designs to the Chris Bangle era — i.e., controversial at the time but now looked upon fondly.
Oliver Heilmer, currently head of design at Mini, will now oversee the sketching of BMW’s compact and mid-size BMW models going forward, as well as BMW M. Heilmer has been heading Mini’s design studio since 2017 and has been attached to the BMW Group for over two decades. Holger Hampf, currently at BMW Group Designworks, will take over his role at Mini.
Additional changes include:
Anders Warming, formerly Head of Design at Rolls-Royce, will now oversee all Advanced Design topics and the BMW Group Designworks subsidiary.
Claudia Braun will lead the newly created cross-brand department for Colour and Material Design across BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. She brings experience from Porsche AG, Daimler AG, and Volvo Cars.
“The new organization, focused on the transformation of the company, will remain the industry benchmark,” said BMW in a statement. “For example, Colour and Material Design will be consolidated across all brands, while the BMW brand team will be divided into two studios and the future topic of ‘Advanced Design’ strengthened.”
So, there you have it—a redesign of the design team. BMW’s approach seems to be when in doubt, shuffle the deck. If this move results in fewer design choices that make enthusiasts question their life choices, then maybe, just maybe, the Bavarians are onto something. Here’s hoping that the next BMW reveal doesn’t have us searching for a therapist.
