Car design depends on teamwork, in sharp contrast to the social distancing the coronavirus pandemic has imposed. How does smart working change creative activity? What consequences will it have on the form of tomorrow’s cars? Auto&Design has asked these questions of carmaker design chiefs and independent style centres. The vision of Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Chief Design Officer.
How has your way of working changed during this period of closure?
We’re going through a very strange moment in history. From my point of view as far as stylistic projects are concerned, I can say that once the process of imagination, philosophical construction and sketch of a certain object, including cars, is completed, there is an absolute need to see it in its real, physical and tangible dimension. Certainly it is possible to design a car in its entirety on the computer, today technology allows us to do so, but when it comes to making a final judgement in the face of the enormous investments made, the physical model is not only necessary but essential. The process of defining the physical models is blocked at the moment, but fortunately the design of many Land Rovers that will be released in the coming years has already been evaluated and decided.
From a personal point of view these weeks have been very demanding for me also morally: I have tried to organize the tasks and the work of the team in the best possible way, evaluating for some people also the layoff. We are also deciding which projects will be temporarily stopped and which will continue on a regular basis. This time has also led me to reflect on our stylistic philosophy and the strategy to adopt when all this is over.
Does the smart working design team use specific tools?
Yes, they do. All our designers in smart working who have the task of carrying out the digital projects, that are then seen and approved by the various managers, had the opportunity to take all the necessary equipment from their workstations in the design studio to work quietly. With the leaders we see each other daily for all updates.
In your opinion will this period have an effect on the shape of the cars?
I don’t think the shapes of our cars will change as a direct result of this terrible pandemic. We have a clear stylistic direction and strategy and my job is to ensure that this all goes well whether you work from home or when you can get back to normal. But projects that are managed remotely can only go so far, then they have to stop. Technology is very helpful, but it doesn’t give me the degree of precision I need to have to validate a new model.
How important is inspiration from the outside for a designer?
Although the travel and life experience is fundamental for a designer, we must still remember that we have only been home for a few weeks and that we will probably only be home for a few more weeks. In this period, however, once again we are helped by what we have around us like books and the many images we find on the internet.
I don’t think that in the short term this can have an impact on our inspiration. Our strategy rests on a very solid foundation that we have established since the first generation of the Range Rover Evoque and which has been refined over the time and on which we are constantly working. I think this period could change people’s desires and needs because many of us have had the opportunity to think more about the importance of the things we have. Are we sure, for example, that all the trips we took were really necessary? On things like these the pandemic will probably have an impact. The desire for objects with a good design I’m sure it will continue to be there, but will it have the same levels of interest as before? This is impossible to predict at the moment.
