FAQs
1) What is Car designing?
Car designing has many varied departments. From the design research to sketching to 3D modeling to clay model to prototype building, all these departments work in coherence to create a new vehicle or update an existing one.
Car designing aims at giving the car buyer with new products. New shapes, or new segments and even new technology is given as an alternative to the existing one.
2) What is the Typical Design Process?
Ans: Every design process starts with a design brief where the Design planning department gives the Creative Design/Styling department with inputs related to new product. It includes the target market, segment, customer, size of the vehicle, competitor product etc.
The designers then work around this given brief and come out with their ideas. Many design firms/studios hold a competition among their designers to find out the best design. The way of choosing the best design varies from company to company.
The selected design(s) is(are) further improved a lot.
At a stage when the final design is selected, it goes further for clay modeling and 3D modeling. A to and fro process between the clay model and the 3D model takes place (initially a smaller model is built, then a final full scale one is built). It is important to model the product in clay since it gives a live demonstration of the design. The designers and even the management people can decide about the changes required, approval etc based on this very model.
Once approved, the clay model is taken further and a prototype is built to show case the new design to the Public!
That is when you see a 'concept' car in the auto expos. That is where the company gets a feedback about the design.
3) How to get into Designing?
Ans: A couple of decades back, having a formal education was not 'necessary' for becoming a designer. People like Harley Earl never studied designing but they did create a new field.
Today, there are numerous colleges/schools across the globe that offer Design Courses specifically into Automotive Design. And a good college does help you in becoming a better designer.
The list can be had at http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/ca...esign_schools/. This is not the only list, however.
All these design schools and colleges offer various courses in automotive design/transportation design. From Cars to bikes to yachts to trains etc. From 3 to 4 year graduate course to 1 to 2 year post graduate courses as well.
The basic requirement is that you should;
1. Be able to sketch,
2. Be ready to work hard to be a designer.
3. Have a decent design portfolio
Many people confuse engineering with designing. Automobile engineering is DIFFERENT from automobile designing. In broader aspect they are dependent upon each other, but as professions, they are much different- just like a tailor and a fashion designer or an interior decorator and a civil contractor.
Anyhow, coming back to schools;
The first thing you need to know is the faculty members of the college. Are they related to the industry? Are they a mix of young and old experienced people who have the passion for designing?
Look at the curriculum of the college. If they are giving due importance to skill development and are serious about leading the students to a level where students can think for themselves.
There are a few schools in India as well. DYPDC (Pune), DSK-ISD (Pune), NID (Ahmedabad), UPES (Dehradun-starting this July). They all intend to provide the best teaching.
In case you are really looking forward to get into designing, look around. Judge the colleges.
The first thing you need to know is the faculty members of the college. Are they related to the industry? Are they a mix of young and old experienced people who have the passion for designing?
Look at the curriculum of the college. If they are giving due importance to skill development and are serious about leading the students to a level where students can think for themselves.
Design schools will not hold your hands and teach you to draw. They will guide you to improve your skills and also develop your creativity. In any case, you need to work a lot since there is a fierce competition. Design schools are a guiding tool where you are free to explore different ideas.
A good design school will have a curriculum that has a lot of sketching along with technical subjects and subjects based on virtual 3-D and physical modelling. Look at the final projects they do, the placements done so far and in what companies. Talk to the existing students and find out the way of teaching.
4) What is a portfolio? And how to go about it? What to add?
Ans: An automotive design portfolio is essentially a collection of your personal work you do/did related to automotive design.
Add everything that shows your inclination towards automotive design, sketching and modelling.
Start from simple car sketches. Go online on www.cardesign.com, www.carbodydesign.com, www.simkom.com etc and look at the work done by other professional designers. Try and analyze the choice of 'style'.
At the entry level, nobody expects you to be highly professional. You are taking admission to 'learn' about designing.
You may add your skills on sketching human figures or paining fruits, creating clay models or photography skills (but please, do not add the foto of how your bog sleeps with its belly up). Add things that add value to your 'design' and 'artistic nature'.
Building Portfolio
Do this;
Go to the above mentioned websites, download the sketches. Keep them under a plain sheet of white paper, take a pencil and try to 'sketch'. DO NOT TRACE! Sketch over. do it repeatedly and then do it without an under-laying image. look at a car and try to draw it.
make as many cars as possible. Make bikes, trucks, auto-rickshaws...pretty much everything u can.
make some products as well. cell phones, pencil sharpeners, pen stands, luggage bags, a water bottle, computer station etc. etc.
Add value to your portfolio. Give every design a reasoning and an improved outlook above the existing one.
Add all the BEST WORK ONLY to your portfolio. Scan freehand sketches, take pictures of the models, take along some small sized models that you can show to the interviewer.
Arrange everything in a professional manner. buy some file folders and add the sketches to it.
Neat and Clean work is the key here.
Taking admission
Select the college/school you want to to get into. I have provided a list on one of my previous posts.
Contact them regarding the admission process and timeline. Every school will ask for a design portfolio. Create it.
In the past I have been interviewing students for DYP-DC, Pune and currently teaching at University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun as a design faculty. The main things we look before accepting the students were;
1. They are ready to sketch on a piece of paper with a simple pencil.
2. They try to express, through sketches, what they talk about cars.
3. They have a passion about designing.
A student who feels that designing is 'better and easier' than physics, maths or chemistry is grossly mistaken.
Designing is as difficult (or easy) as any other subject. In fact, in designing you must continuously practice and learn. You can not simply start working 2 weeks before the exam and perform greatly.
You have to be very consistent. You must work throughout the semester to present a good work at the end. There are presentations and jury and not exams
5) Is there a bright future?
Ans: Now this is a tough one and one of the most important one as well.
Automotive design is a niche career and profession choice. It is not like fashion design or interior decoration. The comparative sale of the finish product is much lesser as compared to the other two.
Since the recent global melt down of 2008, automotive market has seen many downs and a few ups. Companies are surely hiring new designers but they seek more of experienced ones and there is a lot of inter-brand transfers.
The after effects of melt down led to closure of many design houses and car manufacturers. Many car manufacturers are struggling with low sales and huge staff. That further led to strict visa rules and a sort of 'no-immigration' policy by many European nations. Consequently, design has suffered. getting a job in Europe is not as difficult as getting a visa. Hence, many companies avoid hiring the foreign nationals.
Said that, this is the career that you do not choose only for money, but for your love towards cars and automotive design. Many car designers choose from various career options;
1. Go for further studies and wait for the situation to get better.
2. Start your own business. That may not be a car design thing, but industrial and product design.
3. Try to get internships. This is a bit easier to get.
4. Get into design education. Many many institutes are coming up.
5. Keep trying to get into the smaller design houses. That gives u a varied experience too.
Many of the companies are moving east. India and China are the most sought after countries globally. Unfortunately, Indian policies and bureaucracy are a sort of headache for foreign players, which is not the case with China. Our government and the opposition must work this out first. Let the Parliament function and take decisions that suit the country's development.
Well, chances are that in coming times, the Indian design scene will improve and more and more companies will hire more and more Indian designers.
We do not have any sort of 'design language' when it comes to automotive design. We need to develop it and do it fast!
How about India as a prospective job location?
The world is moving east. Most of the car companies have either started or have initiated process to manufacture cars in countries like India and China. Many R&D departments from various car manufacturers have been opened up in these two countries.
The competition is growing and every company wants have the biggest piece of the cake. It benefits both, the industry as well as the country’s population.
Since India is very new in designing, companies have started hiring the fresh creativity from the locals. However, there is a huge competition from the beginning. To be the best, you have to have a very good portfolio and a passion to work hard. If you satisfy these two traits, the future is very bright
6) I do not have a good sketching level. What should I do?
Ans: Well, sketching is the most important part of the design field. It is the language designers interact in. You need to improve your sketching. In this era of technology and Google, it is very easy to search for design tutorials that may help you evolve with your sketching levels. Go to you tube, www.carbodydesign.com and similar websites to look for such tutorials.
7) Can I sell my designs to Car companies?
Ans: Not exactly! Car companies spend millions on a single car. They have hundreds of people working in developing a car. There are designers, engineers, marketing guys, management people and clay modellers etc. who have been hired with the purpose of designing a new car for the company. It’s not a practice to buy designs from somebody. Yes, if you are an established designer, you may approach to build a car for the company in collaboration with their team (As the case may be).
Car designing has many varied departments. From the design research to sketching to 3D modeling to clay model to prototype building, all these departments work in coherence to create a new vehicle or update an existing one.
Car designing aims at giving the car buyer with new products. New shapes, or new segments and even new technology is given as an alternative to the existing one.
2) What is the Typical Design Process?
Ans: Every design process starts with a design brief where the Design planning department gives the Creative Design/Styling department with inputs related to new product. It includes the target market, segment, customer, size of the vehicle, competitor product etc.
The designers then work around this given brief and come out with their ideas. Many design firms/studios hold a competition among their designers to find out the best design. The way of choosing the best design varies from company to company.
The selected design(s) is(are) further improved a lot.
At a stage when the final design is selected, it goes further for clay modeling and 3D modeling. A to and fro process between the clay model and the 3D model takes place (initially a smaller model is built, then a final full scale one is built). It is important to model the product in clay since it gives a live demonstration of the design. The designers and even the management people can decide about the changes required, approval etc based on this very model.
Once approved, the clay model is taken further and a prototype is built to show case the new design to the Public!
That is when you see a 'concept' car in the auto expos. That is where the company gets a feedback about the design.
3) How to get into Designing?
Ans: A couple of decades back, having a formal education was not 'necessary' for becoming a designer. People like Harley Earl never studied designing but they did create a new field.
Today, there are numerous colleges/schools across the globe that offer Design Courses specifically into Automotive Design. And a good college does help you in becoming a better designer.
The list can be had at http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/ca...esign_schools/. This is not the only list, however.
All these design schools and colleges offer various courses in automotive design/transportation design. From Cars to bikes to yachts to trains etc. From 3 to 4 year graduate course to 1 to 2 year post graduate courses as well.
The basic requirement is that you should;
1. Be able to sketch,
2. Be ready to work hard to be a designer.
3. Have a decent design portfolio
Many people confuse engineering with designing. Automobile engineering is DIFFERENT from automobile designing. In broader aspect they are dependent upon each other, but as professions, they are much different- just like a tailor and a fashion designer or an interior decorator and a civil contractor.
Anyhow, coming back to schools;
The first thing you need to know is the faculty members of the college. Are they related to the industry? Are they a mix of young and old experienced people who have the passion for designing?
Look at the curriculum of the college. If they are giving due importance to skill development and are serious about leading the students to a level where students can think for themselves.
There are a few schools in India as well. DYPDC (Pune), DSK-ISD (Pune), NID (Ahmedabad), UPES (Dehradun-starting this July). They all intend to provide the best teaching.
In case you are really looking forward to get into designing, look around. Judge the colleges.
The first thing you need to know is the faculty members of the college. Are they related to the industry? Are they a mix of young and old experienced people who have the passion for designing?
Look at the curriculum of the college. If they are giving due importance to skill development and are serious about leading the students to a level where students can think for themselves.
Design schools will not hold your hands and teach you to draw. They will guide you to improve your skills and also develop your creativity. In any case, you need to work a lot since there is a fierce competition. Design schools are a guiding tool where you are free to explore different ideas.
A good design school will have a curriculum that has a lot of sketching along with technical subjects and subjects based on virtual 3-D and physical modelling. Look at the final projects they do, the placements done so far and in what companies. Talk to the existing students and find out the way of teaching.
4) What is a portfolio? And how to go about it? What to add?
Ans: An automotive design portfolio is essentially a collection of your personal work you do/did related to automotive design.
Add everything that shows your inclination towards automotive design, sketching and modelling.
Start from simple car sketches. Go online on www.cardesign.com, www.carbodydesign.com, www.simkom.com etc and look at the work done by other professional designers. Try and analyze the choice of 'style'.
At the entry level, nobody expects you to be highly professional. You are taking admission to 'learn' about designing.
You may add your skills on sketching human figures or paining fruits, creating clay models or photography skills (but please, do not add the foto of how your bog sleeps with its belly up). Add things that add value to your 'design' and 'artistic nature'.
Building Portfolio
Do this;
Go to the above mentioned websites, download the sketches. Keep them under a plain sheet of white paper, take a pencil and try to 'sketch'. DO NOT TRACE! Sketch over. do it repeatedly and then do it without an under-laying image. look at a car and try to draw it.
make as many cars as possible. Make bikes, trucks, auto-rickshaws...pretty much everything u can.
make some products as well. cell phones, pencil sharpeners, pen stands, luggage bags, a water bottle, computer station etc. etc.
Add value to your portfolio. Give every design a reasoning and an improved outlook above the existing one.
Add all the BEST WORK ONLY to your portfolio. Scan freehand sketches, take pictures of the models, take along some small sized models that you can show to the interviewer.
Arrange everything in a professional manner. buy some file folders and add the sketches to it.
Neat and Clean work is the key here.
Taking admission
Select the college/school you want to to get into. I have provided a list on one of my previous posts.
Contact them regarding the admission process and timeline. Every school will ask for a design portfolio. Create it.
In the past I have been interviewing students for DYP-DC, Pune and currently teaching at University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun as a design faculty. The main things we look before accepting the students were;
1. They are ready to sketch on a piece of paper with a simple pencil.
2. They try to express, through sketches, what they talk about cars.
3. They have a passion about designing.
A student who feels that designing is 'better and easier' than physics, maths or chemistry is grossly mistaken.
Designing is as difficult (or easy) as any other subject. In fact, in designing you must continuously practice and learn. You can not simply start working 2 weeks before the exam and perform greatly.
You have to be very consistent. You must work throughout the semester to present a good work at the end. There are presentations and jury and not exams
5) Is there a bright future?
Ans: Now this is a tough one and one of the most important one as well.
Automotive design is a niche career and profession choice. It is not like fashion design or interior decoration. The comparative sale of the finish product is much lesser as compared to the other two.
Since the recent global melt down of 2008, automotive market has seen many downs and a few ups. Companies are surely hiring new designers but they seek more of experienced ones and there is a lot of inter-brand transfers.
The after effects of melt down led to closure of many design houses and car manufacturers. Many car manufacturers are struggling with low sales and huge staff. That further led to strict visa rules and a sort of 'no-immigration' policy by many European nations. Consequently, design has suffered. getting a job in Europe is not as difficult as getting a visa. Hence, many companies avoid hiring the foreign nationals.
Said that, this is the career that you do not choose only for money, but for your love towards cars and automotive design. Many car designers choose from various career options;
1. Go for further studies and wait for the situation to get better.
2. Start your own business. That may not be a car design thing, but industrial and product design.
3. Try to get internships. This is a bit easier to get.
4. Get into design education. Many many institutes are coming up.
5. Keep trying to get into the smaller design houses. That gives u a varied experience too.
Many of the companies are moving east. India and China are the most sought after countries globally. Unfortunately, Indian policies and bureaucracy are a sort of headache for foreign players, which is not the case with China. Our government and the opposition must work this out first. Let the Parliament function and take decisions that suit the country's development.
Well, chances are that in coming times, the Indian design scene will improve and more and more companies will hire more and more Indian designers.
We do not have any sort of 'design language' when it comes to automotive design. We need to develop it and do it fast!
How about India as a prospective job location?
The world is moving east. Most of the car companies have either started or have initiated process to manufacture cars in countries like India and China. Many R&D departments from various car manufacturers have been opened up in these two countries.
The competition is growing and every company wants have the biggest piece of the cake. It benefits both, the industry as well as the country’s population.
Since India is very new in designing, companies have started hiring the fresh creativity from the locals. However, there is a huge competition from the beginning. To be the best, you have to have a very good portfolio and a passion to work hard. If you satisfy these two traits, the future is very bright
6) I do not have a good sketching level. What should I do?
Ans: Well, sketching is the most important part of the design field. It is the language designers interact in. You need to improve your sketching. In this era of technology and Google, it is very easy to search for design tutorials that may help you evolve with your sketching levels. Go to you tube, www.carbodydesign.com and similar websites to look for such tutorials.
7) Can I sell my designs to Car companies?
Ans: Not exactly! Car companies spend millions on a single car. They have hundreds of people working in developing a car. There are designers, engineers, marketing guys, management people and clay modellers etc. who have been hired with the purpose of designing a new car for the company. It’s not a practice to buy designs from somebody. Yes, if you are an established designer, you may approach to build a car for the company in collaboration with their team (As the case may be).