Overdesign
I've noticed recently how much we criticise car design aesthetics that have drifted away from the conservative. But I wondered, what does that mean exactly when the current economic climate worldwide forgets about values like heritage and history and focuses on earnings and revenue. This subject was discussed most recently when the McL P1 was shown and many of us right away decided that the car looked ugly. McL being a young player in the road car market has the liberty to try and create its own brand identity without stomping on a design language that has existed for years. Porsche on the other hand plays on the simplicity of its design aesthetic to convey a sense of belonging within an existing lifestyle presented by the brand. But as many of us have already criticised, Porsche seems to be expanding at a rate where that growth could become more of a liability to the brands stigma rather than a financial asset, specially now that they have the backbone of the VW giant behind them. But it seems they are sticking to their guns and keeping things clean, for now. But has the consumer for this product changed so much that they have shifted the focus on the whole industry? In the past luxury car brands hoped to keep a sense of sophistication and style in what they did because that was the kind of costumer that not only could afford to indulge in cars of that category, but also because that was the kind of people that manufacturers wanted to be associated with. Today we can safely and sadly say that a sports car has become a symbol for arrogance, superiority, and in many cases outright disregard for others. But how does this relate to design overall ? Should a car be made in such a way that it becomes an enjoyable piece of design for the user, or as a statement to others of the ideas the user stands for? And if so, how does car design at large reflect and impact society?
To answer this lets look back at some examples of brands that have recently been said to over design:
Lamborghini:
Aston Martin:
McLaren:
So why is this happening and what does it mean to the brand and its costumers? Fundamentally cars are a business like any other, and it needs to move with the economical tides in order to survive. But in a world where automobiles are no longer a commodity but rather a necessity, and an indispensable means to any and every other industry, why wont luxury/premium car makers impose their own rules on design and what they think the brand should stand for? rather than wielding to what others, and the market trend of the moment suggest? Theres no doubt that the Asian market is at the moment the driving force behind this change within the looks of cars. the incorporation of asian inspired lines and elements hopes to bring costumers from those societies, which at the moment have more stable economies than Europe and America can provide. So where do these design elements come from?
Asia has a very rich and diverse artistic culture, but something that has always stood out is it's daring nature, and the obvious inclusion of ornaments and decorative lines and figures to enhance the appearance of things.
Now we know where the inspiration comes from, now lets take a look at why. As said before Asia is spending its money, and cars is a good place to do it. The automotive industry in thriving in these countries and is expected to stay on the rise for the near future. The US was the most important premium car sales market for some time but recently it's hit a bad streak because of so much economical unrest, and Asia in on the rise with a lot of strength:
Also amongst all mayor car sales China, Japan and India (another culture with a strong artistic personality and a ornamented and enriched design language) present themselves as the ones with highest prospect of rising, while other countries don't show such growth:
It's all aimed at the societies with the most spending power. As a profitable industry automotive design follows whoever had the deepest pockets, many times compromising its value for higher sales numbers. Its textbook consumerism. the problem is that this is a short term solution, design as a whole should help shape peoples perspective upon a product in a way that it betters the psychological state of the user through time, and this in turn can set the ground for better design and better usage in the future. A trendy "more is more" approach to car design exemplifies one of the main problems of todays society, the fact that we want more and we want it now. Instead of focusing on a design that can help add something new and better to the lifestyle of the user, and help them achieve what they set out to do with the product, aesthetics point to a place where cars can be viewed more as status symbols without reason or purpose behind their forms. And the more car makers work this way the more it'll change the worlds perspective on sports/luxury cars.
As someone mentioned in one the P1 thread we might dislike a design at first glance but "get used to it" with time and learn to like it. True but not necessarily good. If we get used to bad design, a design that focuses on the flash, and the drama of car making, we will eventually forget that some of history most beautiful cars were conceived and designed from a technical point of view and bearing in mind design principles that added meaningful and significant aspects to the object itself.
Wether or not a particular car is "ugly" or "pretty" is irrelevant when we consider the values behind a society that is pushing those labels upon the industry. If car makers continue to make cars with designs that are merely there to satisfy a momentary surge in the market then those brands will eventually lose their own value and identity. That in turn will ruin the automotive culture that so many of us appreciate so much.
These are just my own personal thoughts and opinions on this subject and I don't expect everyone to agree with it. But I kept thinking about it since in my line of work a good design is key. So I decided to put my ideas together in one place and wrote all this, writing down my ideas with pictures and data is usually my process to form an idea and come to a conclusion about any design subject I analyse. It might seem as rambling at times but maybe some of you have ideas on the subject and would like to add to why things have taken such a turn in recent years.