Automotive Design Education Embraces the Digital Age

David Lynn, Instructor/Partner | Georgia Institute of Technology | Laughing Dog Design Studio, LLC

From the very beginnings of automotive design in the late 1800s, automotive design education has relied heavily on oral tradition, or correspondence, as in the case of Andrew Johnson, and personal relationships not unlike those between master and apprentice. The tools and skills of automotive design have been taught by experienced practitioners to eager students primarily via demonstration and word of mouth. This method has produced a rich heritage but perhaps at the expense of innovation and broader understanding of the field outside of a relatively small circle of professionals. Although the number of practitioners of automotive design is small, the influence is great; over 60 million cars a year are built (McElroy, 2005). The introduction of computer-based design tools, along with the ongoing recognition of additional fields that are integral to modern automotive design (product planning, branding, marketing, ergonomics, interface, aerodynamics, design engineering, materials science, and manufacturing to name a few) has opened great opportunities and the need for automotive design education to evolve in response.

The profession currently enjoys unprecedented influence within the automotive industry. Design is widely recognized as an efficient means to distinguish one vehicle from another and increase market share via the superior design of otherwise similar competing products. Market analyst AutoPacific Inc. estimates that by 2009, there will be 277 distinct models of cars and light trucks offered in the U.S. (Vlasic, 2006). Competing in numerous niche markets requires a greater number of vehicle models, each tailored for a specific market and each requiring its own design. The proliferation of models and ever-shrinking development times mean that there is more design work to be done and less time to accomplish it. Phil Mertens, former group vice president for product creation, Ford Motor Company, points out that “design is increasingly more important due to fragmentation of the global market and required technology and amenities.” (McElroy, 2005) “The only thing that is going to separate our company from the rest is great design,” declares J Mays, Ford’s group vice president of design (Fonda, 2006). As competitive economic forces require companies to run leaner, the training and hiring of the best young designers becomes increasingly critical. Industry is demanding graduates ready to perform fresh out of school and is no longer in a position to take time to train new hires. This responsibility is falling ever more heavily upon academic design programs.

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