ITS ALL ABOUT THE LOOK – December 2015

IN CONVERSATION WITH PRAKASH GILATAR. A MECHANICAL ENGINEER HOLDING A MASTER’S DEGREE IN TRANSPORTATION DESIGNING. HE IS CURRENTLY A AUTOMOBILE DESIGNER AND HRS WORKED WITH MAHINDRA AND MAHINDRA IN THE PAST

What is the national and international scope for automobile modification and product design?
As the aspirations and demands of people for better cars & motorcycles rise in India, the scope for automobile design is bound to grow too. In fact, many auto companies based abroad are coming to India for designers. Indian auto companies have also set up studios. Besides, foreign companies hire Indian designers to modify their (foreign) car designs to suit Indian tastes. Automobile modification industry is rapidly growing in India, today owning a car or motorcycle which is unique and resembles your persona has become a style symbol and hence there is a huge business scope in the future.

Can you give us an idea about the skills required to pursue modification and product design?
Design and materials shape the world around us. But designers can do much more. Good designers always think from the customer point of view. They can think about how to improve aesthetic but also functionality of the product. Creative thinking on functions can improve the product concept. Design is a way to communicate quality & expresses care and dedication to the product. Apart from these,a few basics skills are also required which will help to bring your idea in to the real world, such as sketching, rendering, Photoshop, 3D modelling software and understanding of manufacturing processes and materials.

What are the current trends and highlights of the automobile design industry?
The automotive industry is always on the move. It is a world of constant change and improvement where design is a sign of the times. Automotive Design is influenced by trends with often a much wider base than the world of products. They can reflect social developments and feelings around emancipation, sustainability or economics. There is a relation with fashion on the one hand and with technology on the other. There are short lived trends and trends of today that will continue long into the future. According to me, the following are a few trends which are driving the automotive industry crazy.
Individuality: Today’s youth not only want ‘a’ car, they want ‘their’ car. Individually styled to their taste as a means of personal expression. Individual, low volume, body shapes are enabled by modern production technology and platform based architectures. Further individualization & customization can be done by extensive option packages and individualized color and trim.
Light Design & LED technology: Lights are very important styling elements on the exterior of a car. They started as true add-ons, mounted on a bracket, were then fluently integrated in the body shape and today stand out as true eye catchers dominating the front end. The design is no longer the shape of the body, but in the interior of the light the bulb, the lenses.
Sculpted surfaces: Surfaces are no longer nicely curved and integrated to make a nice overall form. German design was traditionally characterized as ‘aus eimem Guss’ until Chris Bangle set BMW design upside down by creating complex surfaces with sharp lines and a mix of convex and concave shapes.
Materials: Use of bio plastics is the new innovation. The technology to produce bio plastics started with degradable materials and has advanced to the point that is possible to make parts up to automotive standards.The future perspective is a widespread use of composites to deliver the substantial weight reduction cars are waiting for. The most promising in this respect is carbon fiber.