Car Aesthetic Designer

Consider the beauty of a finely tuned sports car as it flies around the corner of the track.  The aerodynamic design of the vehicle keeps it firmly planted on the ground allowing the sports suspension to grip the road as it rounds the turn and accelerates into the straightaway.  A sports car is a thing of beauty but it did not arrive at this design pinnacle right away.  Today’s vehicles have evolved to include an artistic flair along with performance and created not just a piece of machinery but a work of art.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘aesthetic’ as ‘of or relating to art or beauty’ and goes on to include ‘pleasing in appearance, easy to use, clear graphics and other ergonomic features’.  This definition describes the true depth or responsibility that the car aesthetic designer truly has in the design of an automobile.  The car aesthetic designer is responsible for the overall form and design of the vehicle but no just so that it is beautiful to look at, they must consider the functionality and ease of use of their design when the final vehicle is assembled.

Educational requirements for a car aesthetic designer

The role of the car aesthetic designer is filled by a variety of educational backgrounds from the aerodynamics engineer who looks at the overall body design and how it will flow through the air when being driven to the ergonomics engineer who looks at how the driver and passenger will ride in the vehicle and drive and sit comfortably while they are traveling.  There is the lighting engineer who will look at the layout of the instrumentation panel and how the various materials and textures will merge together within the body of the vehicle to the physicist who studies color perception by different people.  Even artists have a role in the aesthetic design of a vehicle nowadays and they are incorporated into the design team to bring their eye for beauty and creativity into the appearance of the vehicle.

With the wide variety of backgrounds working in the car aesthetic designer position you can imagine that there will be a variety of educational backgrounds as well.  The best guideline if you are interested in working in this field is to have an appropriate degree for your field and experience in the automotive industry.  Currently, in the technical industry, there is a trend of hiring atypical employees to bring new insight into designs.  Take, for example, Intel, who has routinely hired artists to work on the marketing and design teams and have made a singer from the popular group The Black Eyed Peas a member of their executive design team.

A day in the life of an aesthetic design engineer

Because of the wide range of activities that make up this position there are no two days alike for an aesthetic designer.  For an example, consider a physicist and their design team that are working on color perception.  The automobile is composed of a variety of materials and textures all of which much be matching in color.  However, even if you use the exact same color dye on these different materials, the end result will be a hodge-podge of colors that will not be aesthetically pleasing to the end user.  This team is challenged with developing a way to measure not just the color but how it is perceived by the end user so that the overall design of the vehicle is harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

The automobile is an engineering marvel and a work of art.  The team behind the end product has spent many days integrating all aspects of the design together so that it creates a beautiful picture to the driver and the spectators as it travels down the highway.