Character impression
A black casual jacket, a floral shirt, a pair of jeans, a pair of canvas shoes... When the reporter first saw David Wilkie, he was deeply attracted by the rich artistic flavor of his body. Graduated from Mackintosh, Glasgow, Scotland. David of the School of Art holds an honours degree in industrial design and holds a master's degree in automotive design from the Royal College of Art in London. This 60-year-old 'Artist Master' has been responsible for the car for many years in his professional design career. In shape design, he joined Case New Holland Industrial Group in 2014 and led the company's design team, responsible for the shape design work of its agricultural machinery, construction machinery and commercial vehicles.
As a world-renowned company, Case New Holland Industrial Group (hereinafter referred to as 'CNH'), its New Holland and Case agricultural products have been highly regarded. Good design will add luster to the product and enhance the product's "face value". ', to make the product more pleasing to the eye. Recently, the reporter interviewed CNH design director David Wilkie, showing us how he and the team can step through the sketch of the CNH brand products into the real world, and widely used in agriculture Machinery, construction machinery, business functions and more.
Q1: Is this your first visit to China?
David: No, I have been in China many times. Because the company has extensive cooperation with China, there are many projects to follow. I am very happy every time I come to China. China is a very dynamic market, relative to mature In developed countries, there are many significant and exciting changes that can be seen, giving me a lot of design inspiration.
Q2: What is the purpose of your trip to China?
David: This time I came to China, not only to follow up on CNH's new projects in China, but also to approach new projects. I believe that in the near future, the results of these projects will be presented in the Chinese market.
Q3: Have you paid attention to China's domestic agricultural machinery products?
David: I have seen some local products at some exhibitions, but I didn't have a deep understanding. But I want to share some experience. Our work is mainly on the design of the exterior of the product, and we must work closely with the product experts. Because agricultural machinery does not Like a car, it may not need to be used every day, and the user community is also highly targeted. For designers, it is necessary to have the injection of product experts. After fully communicating with them, we must design the functionality and design of the product. Closely integrated, the technical needs are fully reflected in the appearance and interior, so that the product is easy to use and look good.
Q4: From a design perspective, what is your comment on Chinese local products?
David: As far as appearance is concerned, I feel that the design of Chinese products has made great progress, and I have seen tremendous changes. At first, China's design may be relatively old and conservative, and then entered the 'imitation period', and now China The appearance of local products is very design, simple and generous, and modern. I found that many Chinese companies have their own independent ideas about design styles, and have unique insights into market needs, instead of imitating them. copy.
Q5: Do you think there is a gap in the design of Chinese and foreign products?
David: There is still a gap between Chinese agricultural machinery products and foreign brands. However, although European and American brands such as our New Zealand and New Zealand have relatively matured, they seem to be more fashionable, but from a broader perspective, In the agricultural machinery industry, the overall emphasis is on the functionality of the product, practicality, affordable price, and there is not enough investment in the design. The exterior design is just the icing on the cake. Therefore, both Chinese and foreign brands have very good designs. Great progress and space for exploration. I think that the trend of Chinese agricultural machinery companies starting to hire auto designers is very good. With the development of the times, design creativity will occupy a higher proportion, I believe that the design of agricultural machinery products There must be considerable progress.
Q6: What are the signature and recognizable designs in the CNH series?
David: CNH's products have many iconic elements, such as the 'cat's eye design of CNH headlights. There are many other popular elements with recognition, like our air intake grille, which uses a typical three streamlined design. .
Q7: As a senior designer, how do you make the CNH series more recognizable by design?
David: The designer is mainly responsible for the design of the exterior and interior. It is tangible and tangible. It is the first perception of the user. This requires us to work closely with the engineer to convert the engineering language into a sensory language. The design and function are in perfect balance and complement each other. In the upcoming concept design of the new car, we still use the iconic elements of the three streamline grille. At the same time, we also designed the seat of the new product into three. The shape of the leaves, which is compatible with CNH's brand logo, but also makes driving more comfortable.
Q8: What attempts have you and the team made in terms of design and usability?
David: All design languages are closely linked to the brand spirit. In addition to the original design, we have also made a lot of new attempts, such as strengthening the design of the headlights, combining the appearance with the brand concept, after all, the headlights For a machine, it is just as important as a person's eyes. In addition, at the technical level, the next step is to apply LED technology more widely to lighting design, so that the product is more practical in design.
Q9: You have years of experience in automotive design. So, are you considering introducing automotive design elements into the field of agricultural machinery?
David: In fact, the design rules used in the design of the tractor are basically the same as those used in the design of the car. The headlights of many of our tractor products are carefully designed according to the purpose of their work. However, it is also the same as the car. Full of personality and charm, the overall design highlights the brand's characteristics. Every detail allows us to design the tractor as beautiful as a car. We have a design team in Italy, with the same design team as Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. We Always communicate together.
Q10: What do you think is a good design work?
David: A good design, not just research on competing products, in fact, more inspiration comes from outside the industry, such as cars, industry, architecture, etc. There is an old Chinese saying, Kung Fu is outside the poetry. Our design Many of the designers on the team have a strong background in car design and can take advantage of the automotive design expertise of CNH's brother company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), which is where our strengths come. For example, the new CNH The methane powered tractor concept car, inspired by the 'Alfa Romeo' series of cars, has added some innovative elements to make New Holland 'Blue' look more refined, deep and textured. But we have been using blue Color, will not easily change the main color system, after all, this has become a symbol of CNH, we will only develop on this basis, in the inheritance to bring you more impact, a new look.
Q11: In addition to red, green, blue, yellow, etc., why can't agricultural machinery products use more colors like cars?
David: Of course we can apply richer colors to the design, but for the agricultural machinery industry, it is still conservative. Take CNH as an example. First of all, our design improvements are based on the tradition that CNH has continued for many years. We don't want to easily break through or change it on a large scale. Secondly, for the sake of product identification and stability, as I mentioned earlier, one of the reasons why CNH products are well known is because of its blue color. The car body and the white wheel hub, even if the logo is removed, everyone can identify the CNH product through the appearance. Thirdly, from a technical point of view, the agricultural machine design is different from the car design, and the agricultural machinery requires far higher operations in the field. For cars driving on the road. The designer must first ensure that the machine can be recognized at a glance in the field, and then meet the aesthetic needs, but also ensure that users do not feel tired when driving for a long time, so many cars 4. The popular colors, like black, white, and gray, were excluded.
Q12: What are the main factors affecting the design of agricultural machinery?
David: I think there are two points. First, technology-driven, rapid development of technology leads to advances in design, whether in cars, engineering vehicles or agricultural machinery. Just like the emergence of autonomous driving technology, product design will follow. Change, from the appearance to more reflect the functional changes of autonomous driving. Second, the design of its own upgrade, product design should be closely linked with the brand characteristics. The designer's work is not only to make the product more beautiful, but also to be combined with functionality, Let users feel comfortable and use, but also reflect the brand characteristics, so that the product has a higher recognition, better reflect the spirit of enterprise.
Q13: What are the design priorities of CNH in the next few years?
David: In the coming period, the design change of the lamp will be the most important aspect. I don't think there is any country in the world like China. The application of the lamp is so extensive. It can be said that China's research on new technologies for lamps has been The world's leading position. Therefore, for the Chinese market, we will further optimize the product lighting design. In terms of appearance, we will strengthen the functional design of the headlights to make the lighting angle wider, not just the front lighting; For the interior, we will optimize the lighting of the control dial to meet the various needs of the user. In addition, we will pay more attention to the adjustment of the inner lighting line, which makes the driver feel more comfortable and relaxed in the cab.
Q14: Where do you come from these design inspirations?
David: For me, design is not only work, but also the greatest fun and hobby in my life. My design inspiration comes not only from agriculture, but from all aspects of life, such as architecture, boats, sofas, shoes, etc. Just like the design inspiration of the new product seat, it comes from the shape of corn. The design language of the CNH product front is the process of growing crops. China has also given me a lot of inspiration. Every time I come to China, I feel here. The culture, and the rapid changes in society in recent years, have given me a lot of impact and thinking. Every time I return to the Italian headquarters, I will discuss these changes with China in the design team and turn this impact into design inspiration.
Q15: Since the changes in China have impressed you, will CNH develop and develop products for this specific market in China?
David: Every time I come, I will deepen my understanding of Chinese culture and help to better inject these elements into the design of agricultural machinery. Although this will greatly help inspire my design, for the sake of overall consideration, we can only target The user's functional needs are designed without targeting a specific market. The change of technology is the core factor affecting the design, and the design should be more from the perspective of the function of the product. Before the design model is determined, we must The technical team discussed the technical requirements, and the design team finalized the design plan to make the design more in line with the global trend and more prominent the product's functionality. This is the most important. From the functional considerations, CNH also launched the Chinese market. Products, such as the 4088/4077 harvester. But from a broader design perspective, if you only design for a specific market, it will be more limited, after all, each person, the aesthetic taste of each region, the popular elements are not The same. Of course, I will also make a lot of attempts in the future design, and continue to innovate.