Chinese Style in Automotive Design

Culture and design influence and map each other. As a high-class durable consumer product, it is appropriate to incorporate unique cultural elements into the design of automobiles; while as an efficient traveling tool, it is not easy to incorporate specific elements into automobiles, and very often it is easy to make a mistake. Therefore, whether and how to incorporate cultural elements in automobile design has been one of the hot topics in the industry.

In this issue of Icona Design, two designers from France and China will give their insights on the Chinese style of automobile design based on their own working experience.

01?Global vs. local

Most of the world's best-selling cars, such as the Volkswagen Golf and Toyota Corolla, are developed for a wide range of markets, with the aim of pleasing the largest number of people with the same "Global Design". On the other hand, BMW 3 Series, Audi Q5 and other well-known models have also been for the Chinese market wheelbase lengthening treatment. Behind this is the collision of the two development ideas of "global car" and "local R & D" under the premise of maximizing the satisfaction of consumer demand.

Taking the difference between European and Chinese consumers as an example, European consumers love sporty models and prefer aggressive driving, thus short-wheelbase models are more popular; while Chinese consumers are more interested in passenger space and focus on the driving experience, so the wheelbase lengthening is logical.

For family cars like the Golf and Corolla, a more balanced model can best balance cost and audience to maximize benefits. In the case of luxury cars, on the other hand, in order to enhance the brand image and create a better sense of value, they add more details with cultural symbols to the design to emphasize the character of the brand.

02?The use of cultural elements in car design

Let's look at a few examples of incorporating cultural elements into car design.

Ultra-luxury brands Ferrari and Rolls-Royce have each launched two limited edition Chinese models. One borrowed from the Song Dynasty's Koyao openings, reworking the entire car shell and adding a logo in small seal script; the other put dragon motifs on the wings and seats of the Phantom to signify the Chinese New Year. The former is not without artistic flair, but it doesn't fit in with Ferrari's own DNA of sporty performance; the latter is even more out of place as it directly pleases Chinese consumers with flat graphics on the interior and exterior.

The design is reminiscent of what many fashion brands are doing for the Chinese Lunar New Year. Obviously, this kind of design reflects, to some extent, a more rudimentary understanding of Chinese culture from a Western perspective, and does not reflect the essence of Chinese culture well, but rather makes a mess of things and is suspected of "cultural appropriation.

In contrast, the use of cultural elements by local brands is much more appropriate.

BYD's new "Dragon?Face" family design language has been recognized by the market. In the front face, the LED daytime running lights form the "dragon's eyes", the fine horizontal plating bar grille forms the "dragon's whiskers" and the exaggerated area of the "dragon's mouth", which tells a brand story with Chinese cultural characteristics. It tells a brand story with Chinese cultural characteristics.

Interiors, Geely has used the Chinese folk symbol of wealth and prosperity, the "hui-gai" (回纹) pattern, on the armrest boxes of several models, to reflect Chinese cultural elements in the design in a more subtle form.

The same goes for the Land Rover Starliner. The British luxury brand used the texture of the British Union Jack on the fabric of the seats, further reinforcing the brand's identity through this cultural element.

Finally, there's the familiar Buick GL8, a favorite commercial MPV that GM's Pan-Asian Technical Center created by researching the Chinese market based on the engineering of a Chevrolet family seven-seater for the North American market. the secret lies in a deeper understanding of what Chinese consumers expect from the commercial MPV segment, with the addition of solid wood and leather in the interior, and a line-enhanced hood on the exterior, which is enhanced by the use of the British beige flag texture. On the exterior, the lines enhance the power of the hood, and the front grille and headlamps have been redesigned for a more aggressive look. Although there are no obvious elements of Chinese culture in the design, the car shows thoughtful consideration for the Chinese market and consumer culture in every important detail.

After looking at so many examples, how do cultural elements fit into car design?

On the exterior, because the cost of making changes is high, it is easy to destroy the overall proportion of the body and the beauty of the posture, the front face has become the most ideal place to express. BYD's "Dragon?Face", Rongwei's "Ruyi" headlights, and even Kia's "Tiger Tsunami" front face are all examples of this.

Interior, because the user and the cabin with the longest time, in Color&Trim (color and decoration) is more appropriate, with a reasonable combination of useful functions, can effectively enhance the user's aesthetic experience, for the brand to add a unique identity mark.

Another, even more subtle, approach is to consider the cultural context of the target consumer before defining the design of the vehicle.

03?Will Chinese cars be labeled "big"?

Under the double influence of globalization and localized marketing, we can easily associate keywords with some countries' cars, such as French car - romantic, Japanese car - fine, American car - heavy, Italian - spirited, German car - solid and so on. German cars - solid and so on. However, there is no clear word to describe the Chinese automobile with its rapid industrial development. If we had to pick one, "atmosphere", which is often mentioned in our design work, might be one of the closest keywords.

In the Chinese dictionary, "大气" means "dignified" and "generous," reflecting the middle-of-the-road philosophy of traditional Chinese culture. Reflected in automobile design, "atmosphere" is reflected in every detail of Chinese automobile design, such as the size of the body, the direction of the feature line, the overall proportion and the use of technology, etc., and strives to achieve relative excellence in every detail, but also maintains a delicate balance. It is middle-of-the-road, but not mediocre; it is novel, but not claptrap. Like the famous Chinese dish Buddha jumps over the wall, it is cooked with a myriad of good ingredients, yet maintains harmony in the flavor of the finished product.

If this description is more abstract, then the big can be used in a more daring way to express - atmosphere = romantic + fine + heavy + spirited + solid .......

Using such a metaphysical keyword to express Chinese cars is subtle enough, but inevitably not as solid as Audi's "Technology Enlightening the Future" or BYD's "Dragon?Face".

Can "atmosphere" represent Chinese cars? Perhaps it's up to independent brands and designers to take one step at a time and explore the possibilities of making Chinese cars more visible and noteworthy in the world.

This article was written by the author of Auto Home, and does not represent the views of Auto Home.