The CCO of Audi proposes an unusual direction with his design of the Concept C. Upcoming cars should, according to him, be clear, technical, intelligent and consequently emotional.
What did the employee say? The Chief Creative Officer of the car manufacturer Audi, Massimo Frascella, stated in an interview with the British magazine TopGear that he wants to move away from huge screens and simplify the design of new vehicles.
According to his own statements, it should return to the origins of the company, when cars were designed in a structured way. The design of the new Concept C is supposed to be inspired by vehicles like the 1997 A6 and use its appearance as a reference.
In addition, it should combine analog and digital concepts and bring back physical buttons with tactile feedback as a feature.
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Bigger is not always better
Where does the turnaround come from? According to Frascella, “large screens are not the best experience” and are “technology for the sake of technology.” Therefore, he wants to move away from the current design strategy and bring back the “premium feel” in cars.
According to his statements, technology should be used at Audi when it is necessary, and not when it appears unnecessary. Thus, technology should be offered functionally and in the best possible usability to customers. However, modern technology can also lead to significant damage if misused, as another driver had to find out.
It is also important that the tactile feedback of physical buttons in new Audi models is perceived as a quality feature and that plastic is replaced with loving materials like metal.
How is he implementing the concept? In Audi’s new Concept C, you can already see the design philosophy of the Creative Officer:
According to a post on the manufacturer’s website, the vehicle’s interior increasingly focuses on analog buttons and intentionally does without a large screen in the center of the dashboard. It looks more minimalist and geometric shapes are supposed to emphasize function.
The simple and clear outer shape of the car should also radiate “athletic minimalism” as well as “power and precision.” This is to be achieved through a uniform shape that looks as if it were made from a single piece of metal.
He is also supposed to orient himself towards a more vertical design that was already used in older models like the Audi A6 from 2004. But it is not only Audi that is changing its strategy regarding quality; an entire country is introducing a regulation for this purpose: China has had enough of the bad reputation of its cars and now wants to ban the export of vehicles of poor quality or without spare parts.
