Designworks, the BMW Group’s innovation studio, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The design and innovation consultancy was instrumental in the design development of the BMW X model range, played a leading role in the concept design for the BMW i Electric brand and is behind many of the BMW Group’s visionary vehicles, such as the “Gina Light Visionary Model”. With offices in Los Angeles, Munich and Shanghai and clients active in various sectors, the design centre provides input on the most relevant global design phenomena.
Designworks was founded in 1972 by US industrial designer Chuck Pelly in a garage in Malibu, California. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the BMW Group since 1995, Holger Hampf has been at the helm of the consultancy agency since 2017, and the 130 creatives who make up the team consider themselves ‘Architects of the Future’. The style centre completes around half of its almost 300 projects a year for the BMW Group, while the other half consists of collaborations with external clients in the digital and mobility sectors. Over the years, Designworks has been involved in the design of aircraft, subways, bicycles, boats, sporting goods, flying taxis (eVTOLs), agricultural and forestry machinery, a hyperloop and more. “For the electrified future we will need all our creativity and advanced thinking to find the best solutions. The approach we have with Designworks gives us a very good chance of success,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design.
