Appliance Sciences
For every Jean Bugatti or Flaminio Bertoni, William Lyons or Alec Issigonis, Battista Pininfarina or Sergio Scaglietti, Harley Earl or Gordon Buehrig, there are hundreds of unsung automotive designers creating the cars most commonly seen on today's roads.
"A design that solves somebody's problem is a good design," says Cuffaro. "A design that visually appeals to the intended customer is a good design. It's not styling – car companies don't sell sketches." Cuffaro is a creative visionary, a CIA grad who took the industrial design helm in 2003, reinventing the curriculum, guiding students in the product design and transportation design programs. Brian Peterson was one of those students.
"After graduating high school, I was undecided whether I wanted to pursue a career in product design or automotive design," says Peterson, a Florida transplant who was also drawn to the small class sizes at CIA. "Fortunately, CIA's curriculum was structured in a way that allowed students to focus on both areas of design.
"After studying under product design professors and learning problem-solving techniques, applying these new ways of thinking to automotive design intrigued me."
The auto industry has been active in working with the nation's key transportation design programs, and CIA's was among them. Each year, designers from major manufacturers, including Chrysler, GM, Toyota and Nissan, come to CIA to work with students. For the 2009 school year, students were asked by Nissan to redefine the truck. "The Nissan Mobile Maid car (pictured) was probably the biggest risk I took as a student," says Peterson, whose research had revealed the need for specialty vehicles for self-employed entrepreneurs, such as maids. Rather than view the assignment as purely a styling exercise, Peterson took on the challenge as a user-focused problem solving activity. The Cuffaro influence was clear.
"I decided to treat the entire project as if I were designing a product," says Peterson. "User interviews and brainstorming, problem identification and research, and even more product-like sketching were just a few of the things I did to put myself in a product designer's mindset."
Peterson developed a service-industry platform, embodied in his Mobile Maid car. He started by designing the interior, a mobile office with web access and advanced communication functionality. Door handles contained soap dispensers. The rear included an integrated cart on wheels, which was equipped with vacuum, mop and other tools. The drivetrain was linked to a washer, while cleaning solution in body panels not only made good use of space, but also added visual interest. Peterson's design was recognized at the 2009 Interior Motives Awards with the award for Best Lifestyle Interior, the only American designer to be honored at the international competition.
"CIA taught me how to think and develop my ideas creatively," says Peterson, who is now employed as an interior designer by Chrysler. "My professors always taught me to be a problem solver first and a stylist second. Being a risk taker was also something I picked up in my four years in the program.
"The ability to recognize [my] strengths and weaknesses was the most significant thing CIA taught me. I was always pushed to spend more time improving my weaknesses than executing the things I'm already good at. This has made me a better designer because it takes away all my fear of being put on unfamiliar projects, or working on projects outside my comfort zone." Comfort involves a creative blend of old and new.
Shared Vision
Cuffaro refers back to the past, when looking to the future. Much as he did with CIA's industrial design department, he'd like to see the existing industries evolve by looking forward with a reverence for the past. He's identified a need.
He speaks of companies like Tesla, Fisker and Ohio's Myers Motors, independent manufacturers that echo the entrepreneurial spirit that predominated the early days of the automotive industry. "We have a chance to go from this model where we have the Big Three, and they have to produce vehicles in a quantity of 250,000 to be successful, to a scenario where maybe Honda or GM produce robust drivetrain platforms, and you have 20 little companies taking those and making custom vehicles," he says. "Can there be a 'Little 20' in the US? There's going to be room for every type of approach and attitude."
The automotive design school has rejected much of the modern manufacturing world's conventional wisdom, as much of today's products, from cell phones to coffee makers, are tailored to needs. "Cars are often made without all those considerations," says Cuffaro.
Until rather recently, all cars were viewed as luxury items, not items common to every household. Manufacturers such as Ferrari and Rolls-Royce continue to cater to a specific, comparatively small niche market, but the majority of cars sold in the United States and beyond are viewed as tools for everyday life. "If the trajectory ends where the cycle normally ends, a car is just going to be another appliance," says Cuffaro. "We've mastered the art of automobile manufacturing. It's a utilitarian appliance."
Peterson is part of a new generation tasked with making tomorrow's autos functional and stylish. "I would like to see innovation lead the automotive industry," says Peterson. "In my eyes, innovation, technology and problem solving have the best chance in bringing emotional impact back into automotive design."
This feature is part three in a three-part series looking at how the industrial design department at the Cleveland Institute of Art is engaging students, faculty, local business and more to shape Northeast Ohio. Click here to learn how CIA teamed up with APOC to design furnishing for the new campus. Click here to learn how students honored the legacy of a Cleveland legend with a new line of products.
