Future of Automotive Design

Client Profile

Automotive Tier-1 Supplier

Leader in their industry seeking transformative innovation.

Objectives

Brainstorm & identify 3-10 concept spaces together with innovator team
Synthesize & flesh-out the different concepts, consisting of a functional blueprint, target cost case & product design

Key Outcomes

5 detailed designs presented at executive management
Dedicated budget & resources allocated to bring top solution to market

The Innovation Journey

1. Set Target

Established a 'Tech-Push' mandate: Use the existing injection-molding capability to create a premium 'Smart Surface' console for next-gen EVs.

2. Research

Benchmarked the interior UX of 5 leading luxury EV competitors (Tesla, Lucid, Mercedes) to identify gaps in haptic feedback and lighting.

3. Extract Insights

Reverse-engineered the client's own patent portfolio, isolating 3 underutilized 'touch-sensitive' polymer technologies suitable for automotive interiors.

4. Ideate

Facilitated a 3-day 'Design Sprint' with 15 engineers and industrial designers, producing 50+ hand-sketched concepts ranging from 'Hidden Tech' to 'Living Lights'.

5. Form Teams

Created 5 'Sprint Squads', each consisting of one CAD modeler, one material scientist, and one cost engineer to flesh out the top concepts.

6. Investigate

Rapidly prototyped 5 concepts using high-fidelity CAD and 3D printing, subjecting them to 'User Touch' tests with 50 target consumers.

7. Fund

The Board reviewed the 5 tangible prototypes; the 'Morphing Center Console' was approved for full NPI (New Product Introduction) with a €2M development budget.

Confidential