New brands and the search for a design identity
Record numbers of delegates and speakers were in Beijing for this year's conference – proof, as if it were needed, that design is set to play as critical a role in China as it does elsewhere. Among the audience were young Chinese designers keen to learn more about international car design techniques, as well as veteran western designers hoping to gain a deeper understanding of an exploding market for which they are creating vehicles.
Now in its third year, the conference brings together both domestic and global OEMs, and both Chinese and Western design influences, in the development of China's automotive brands and their search for a unique design.
Though European attendance was hampered by the grounding of air travel due to volcanic ash, which also led to the absence of some speakers, the programme was full and sessions lively. Delegates to the conference benefitted from: -
presentations from design directors of both Chinese and global OEMs;
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networking opportunities throughout the two days, including during the lunch and coffee breaks;
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copies of the presentations to download after the conference...
... and all proceedings simultaneously translated between English and Mandarin.
Conference highlights
A full report from each of the two conference days appears on Car Design News (Day 1 and Day 2). Some of the highlights were:
The nature of Chinese automotive design
Fei Fei, vice manager of the design department at Beiqi Foton Motor Company, delved into China's strong aesthetic identity, specifically the symbols and characters encountered by all Chinese when they learn to read and write. The word for 'car', for instance, developed from a hieroglyph for a cart. "We still have a large amount of treasure in our Chinese culture to build upon," he concluded.
Double Du, chief of the design team for PSA Peugeot Citroen China, stressed that Chinese features should not be overdone when designing cars. "As Chinese we know immediately what is connected to our culture, but foreign designers cannot see what we see as Chinese designers," he added.
Ning Xiao, director of the styling center for Guangzhou Automobile, stressed that the introduction of Chinese elements to a design does not change the entire vehicle. Foreign designers often dress western products in eastern attire and expect the product to be transformed. To create a car for the Chinese, designers must be able to speak the language if they are to understand the culture, he stated.
Wulin Gaowa, senior designer at Beijing Automotive Technical Center (BATC), reiterated that the western concept of what being Chinese means, is often very different to that of a person actually born in China. "The Chinese roots are based on core ancient Chinese philosophy," she said. "We had an Emperor for thousands of years, so this is a major influence for normal civilians." The colour yellow was used only by royalty, so gold and yellow hues are much sought after by the Chinese, she pointed out.
Richard Chung, vice president for industrial design at Johnson Controls Asia Pacific stressed the importance of gaining loyalty in China by adapting to the market, using as an example the fast-food chain KFC, which changed its products to suit local tastes. "Chinese consumers care about pretty much what everyone else does," he said – namely good design, value for money and cultural respect.
Colour, materials and trim
Not all the sessions were directed specifically to the China market. In a fascinating range of presentations about colour, materials and trim, there was extensive questioning about the 'smell' of a new car. Designers were asked whether the new-car smell is safe, and whether this smell can be altered to suit tastes.
Another area was to probe the use of ‘water' in the interiors of a vehicle; Robert Miller from 3M responded by saying that "a year ago an OEM had trim panels filled with water", and that the effect created by normal car movements was fascinating; RTT's Michele Hess revealed that she has also been asked to experiment with liquid; while Faurecia's Andreas Wlasak said that as vehicles move away from combustion engines, it's quite plausible that the fluids used in systems such as the HVAC may be made visible to passengers.
Luxury in the China context
Returning to the China market, some conference sessions focussed on income disparities and the meaning of luxury.
Cai Qian, Head of the Shanghai Volkswagen design studio, highlighted the differences between what the concept of owning a car means to people in Germany and in China. "In China, a car still means luxury because not everyone can have one," he pointed out.
He added that because the east coast of China is considered advanced and developed, while the rest of the country is more rural, there is both scope – and necessity – for two different notions of luxury: 'modern luxury' and 'traditional Chinese luxury'.
He also examined the notion of copying, highlighting the fact that fakes made in China often have more features than the original products. He put forward the Chinese version of Apple's iPod Nano, which has a built-in radio, as an example.
How fast can we run?
The debates about, and the focus on, the designs needed to satisfy China’s vast number of consumers, will continue. Friedhelm Engler, design director at GM PATAC summed up the challenge by emphasizing how great the speed of change is in China compared to the rest of the world. "The growth in this country,” he said, “is faster than we can develop cars."
Please click here to see the 2009 conference highlights