The automotive world is moving at breakneck speed and, with almost sixty years under its belt, Italdesign knows that staying competitive means adapting quickly to ever-changing scenarios. Joaquin Garcia, Head of Design at the Turin-based design house, explains how the company is gearing up to face new challenges.
“Let’s start with a simple truth: for us, cars are “the house speciality” and we take great pride in this, as we do in our origins and our history. It’s crucial to remain focused on this, because in the automotive field we have to be able to meet any request. In certain cases, we initiate a co-creation process, working side by side with a client who needs expert collaboration to bring a project to life. We can step in at different levels and adapt to any need, even managing the entire project from start to finish when required, because our structure mirrors that of a real car manufacturer. This gives our clients a huge edge and is the real difference compared to other companies like ours”.
“On other occasions”, continues Garcia, “clients reach out not to develop a specific model, but to define a brand vision. The challenge there is more demanding obviously, but also more stimulating because we have more creative freedom. We also work with car manufacturers that have a long and storied history. They turn to Italdesign because we are in the game of imagining the future and can come up with unexpected proposals that offer a different perspective. I see this approach steadily gaining ground in a world where competition is intensifying and where having a clear vision makes all the difference. This is especially the case with the arrival of Asian manufacturers, who are growing fast but struggle culturally to project themselves five or ten years into the future. For us, by contrast, looking ahead comes naturally”.
This approach is not confined to makers from the East. “European and American manufacturers have also long since recognised how important it is to embrace a broader perspective. These are companies with powerful brand legacies, but they are well aware of how quickly their corporate identity can erode. Brand identity is a delicate object and must evolve in the right way. We have been doing this for over half a century: first with European brands, then with the Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. Building a brand from scratch is embedded in Italdesign’s DNA, but there is more to it than that. We provide access to the Volkswagen Group’s platforms, which is a great advantage. Recently, we worked with the Indonesian government in this very way, culminating in the creation of the first national electric SUV: the TMI i2C”.
The automotive sector therefore remains key, but today, being competitive means getting involved in different areas. Italdesign also has a long history in the field of industrial design, a sector in which it began working in the mid-1970s, founding a specific division in 1981.
“Industrial design has given us satisfaction in many domains”, continues Garcia, explaining how the company’s design focus has changed. “Currently, the most compelling scenarios are in robotics and aerospace. We have already engineered a groundbreaking humanoid robot that will be presented shortly and is different from anything seen to date. For the moment, it has been widely acclaimed from a styling point of view, but we also want to develop it in terms of engineering and prototyping to bring the full strength of the company into play. It is an area that offers a great deal of potential and one in which we feel perfectly at ease, as we are deeply human-centric. The pharmaceutical and medical sector is also experiencing explosive growth. We already have a number of collaborations in play and our involvement will undoubtedly expand in the years to come. Our approach to user experience is pivotal: we are able to design the experience before the product, regardless of the sector. What we have learned in the automotive industry is readily transferable elsewhere”.
Italdesign is also deeply committed to advancing Clean Tech, i.e. the sustainable manufacturing of products through innovative techniques and approaches. “This is not greenwashing”, Garcia clarifies. “Here we work with 3D printing to avoid waste, we use new recycled materials and we combine design, engineering and production to create innovative and highly functional objects. Like the ReSedo seat presented at Volkswagen’s Future Mobility Days. We used different technologies and materials, collaborating with esteemed partners such as Nike Grind, the division of the American giant that transforms manufacturing waste and recycles shoes and clothing to create new materials. Ours is a “learning by doing” approach, and I really like it because it allows us to learn constantly”.
It is therefore among new opportunities in the world of automotive, industrial and transportation design, exploring the latest technologies, that Italdesign is laying the foundations for its future. “Always bearing in mind”, concludes Garcia, “that this company is imbued with an Italian spirit that is the envy of the world. An Italian spirit made up of history, culture, craftsmanship, innovation, elegance and aesthetic sense. Those who live in this country take it for granted, but it shouldn’t be”.
Full article in Auto&Design no. 275. Browse it on A&DCollection
