Recently, "squinting" has become a hot topic of internet speculation, leaving aside the political factors, which also involves a problem of aesthetic differences between the East and the West. Cars were originally a product of Western civilization, and Chinese did not have much say in this regard. However, in recent years, the new car-making forces have invested heavily in recruiting talents, the market share of Chinese brands has risen rapidly, Chinese car companies have been able to integrate the world's high-quality resources, and several Local Chinese designers have also grown rapidly and become Internet celebrity-level figures. When it comes to car design, China can also proudly and confidently preach its own ideas. But as far as design itself is concerned, professionals can see the essence through the phenomenon; and ordinary consumers will also talk about "family design" and "line". How to understand the trend of car design in China? Recently, Long Lens had an in-depth exchange with Chang Bing, chief design officer of Nezha Automobile. Chang Bing's resume is quite senior, and the Hongqi L5, which often appears on major occasions, is from his hand; since joining Nezha Automobile, Chang Bing has also led the design work of Nezha Automobile. In the exchange, for the design of automobiles, Chang Bing put forward nine views that have both unique cognition and scientific value.
Chang Bing, Chief Design Officer of Nezha Automobile (Photo by Su Yunong)
Point 1: Realistic technical conditions restrict design progress
Nowadays, new car manufacturers design electric vehicles, on the one hand, they will combine the technical characteristics of new energy vehicles, on the other hand, they also need to attract users with relatively radical design ideas, which can often give people a refreshing feeling. But similar designs are seen a lot, and there is often a sense of déjà vu. Chang Bing commented that many car designs are now a bit "like", which is indeed a fact. On the surface, consumers may look a bit like from some elements, from the designer's point of view, a lamp or air intake element is not the key, these elements are just a tool for designers, this element can be used by anyone, can not say that the circle belongs to a brand or the triangle belongs to a brand, these basic forms are common to everyone.
But the focus of the car designer is to organize these elements in what kind of relationship, which is where the design team's skills are more tested, and the key is how the car's expression relationship feels to the user, not how the lights are, or how the wheels are.
But behind this "like" is actually the constraint of automobile technology. Technological progress is actually not as fast as imagined, and the pace of automotive technological progress determines the importance of automotive styling design progress. Only if the technology advances enough, the appearance will have an essential improvement. Therefore, in a certain design cycle, there may be no special essential difference in the products of each family.
Chang Bing said that the most typical example is the large area of black areas on both sides of the front face of the car, which was not designed three years ago, and now there are more, the reason is very simple, is to install lidar. It is most reasonable to put it in that position, and the current technology of lidar does not support color, so the shape has to be accommodated.
Point 2: Rounded styling is not the current trend of automotive design
Speaking of the fact that many new car designs are now more focused on the feminine way, Chang Bing made it clear that this is not the current design trend, but a certain cyclical embodiment of the aesthetic development trend of automobile design, which is not intentionally promoted by the designer, but there are many accidental factors.
Chang Bing believes that the soft curve may be more in line with the general user's acceptance of the form. He further explained that everything in nature is generally curved, and only man-made things have particularly sharp sharp angles. The most beautiful form is the human body, and the human body's own cognition of the human form has been implemented to a very deep level of thinking, but we are not usually aware of it. As a result, soft curved surfaces are more widely adapted, and perhaps very rigid and straight designs are always in the minority, and it is precisely because they are minorities that they become a strong choice.
Point three: Do not want to narrowly define the style of women's cars
Now women's decision-making power in automobile consumption is getting stronger and stronger, and women's car demand has become the focus of car companies. In this regard, Chang Bing said that he does not agree with a very rough, narrow definition of a certain style for female users, such as a rounded shape, or must like pink, because there are many female users who like to drive off-road vehicles, like very tough shapes, and the attitude in life is not necessarily weaker than that of men, so for female users, the shaping of product styles must be multi-dimensional, and through multi-dimensional products to meet her. Chang Bing revealed that the two completely different new models that Nezha Automobile is studying have taken into account the unique demands of female users.
Interior of Nezha V Witch Edition (Photo by Su Yunong)
Point 4: Family design should not become the rule of the industry
When it comes to the popular familial design, Chang Bing does not agree very much. He believes that mature brands do not have to be family-oriented, nor should they become a fixed rule in the industry. Because family is the demand of car companies, not the needs of users. Family design can reduce the risk and time of exploring new styles, to a certain extent, it can reduce costs, as long as a certain model everyone likes to adapt, slight adjustment to another car can also be accepted, you can quickly roll out, this is to improve efficiency and save time. For people who use cars, it is unlikely that there is such a user, in the face of Nezha three cars to choose, Nezha S may be more than 200,000, Nezha U Pro is 100,000 to 150,000, Nezha V is 6 to 80,000. The average user compares within a limited level. For users, whether the different models of the enterprise are similar is not the focus of their attention. In other words, whether the product adopts family or not is not much related to the demands of pure individuals.
For example, Chang Bing said that before 2010, each generation of each car series of Japanese and Korean brands had almost no continuity, and it was gradually shown in the past decade that it was family-oriented, but it was not as strong as the family-oriented european brands; but these traditional old models in Europe were exquisitely inherited. Therefore, for long-established brands and new brands, the degree and rhythm of use of familial strategies must be different.
Technically, it is not difficult to do family design at all, but what car to do, at what time, and to what extent the family is done, depending on the brand depends on the model. If the two models cover a relatively high number of user groups, then family; if the two products have a large user span, then do not do family, do not want to be related.
Point five: designers to do new brands to innovate, first put and then receive
In view of the need for electric vehicles to reflect the "newness" of new cars, Chang Bing boldly encourages designers to exert their innovative ability in his work. He believes that designers have a basic principle that must be put first and then collected. If you consider a lot of realistic factors at the beginning, design is difficult to do well. Therefore, in the early stage of design, Chang Bing encouraged designers to fully let go and not be restricted; after having enough ideas and ideas, they slowly recycled. It is precisely because there are more before, even if you retract a little, it is beyond the modern level. Otherwise, for young designers, after first exposure to the constraints and specifications of realistic design, they find that nothing can be done. For Nezha Automobile, brainstorming is one of the important methods of innovation, and the first step of the criterion is not to allow criticism and negation of any idea, even if it seems incomparably absurd, it is not allowed to be denied, and then there is a stage to evaluate the feasibility. It is normal to compromise in some parts and details later.
Chang Bing said that the best way to judge the design level of a car is to look at the car from 100 meters away, if you can feel the uniqueness of the car, or be able to identify which car it is, the design will be successful, even if a local design is the same as others. And looking at this car within five meters is not interesting.
Chang Bing also gave a very interesting example, many users said that when referring new cars to others, it often happens when washing the car, and the car behind has to wait. So the design is impressive at first glance, it can be remembered, and unlike many designs that are very mainstream, but at a glance, they immediately forget.
Point 6: The difference between the design of oil trucks and trams is a subversion of the designer's concept
When it comes to the difference in the design of fuel vehicles and electric vehicles, Chang Bing believes that the difference in essence is not so big. When electric vehicles first appeared, they said that they did not need a grille, in fact, high-power electric vehicles also needed to dissipate heat regularly, and they needed a larger area. The difference between the design of fuel vehicles and electric vehicles is actually a subversion of the design concept. Because all the technology in the oil car era is evolved, for example, in the span of ten years, the underlying architecture and working principle of the car have not changed much in 100 years. However, after entering the era of electric vehicles, the speed and cycle of the architecture and technological progress of electric vehicles are much faster than that of fuel vehicles, whether it is mileage or intelligence, the rapid iteration and progress of this technology is a very fundamental touch for the designer's way of thinking.
Chang Bing said that the career of auto designers in the era of fuel vehicles is a cycle every five years, and foreign countries are longer. Basically, until you are 40 years old, you can supervise the design of a car. After entering the era of electric vehicles, very young designers who have worked for three years can do a whole vehicle design, which is impossible in the traditional oil car era. The reason for this is that the rapid advancement of electric vehicle technology has led to rapid changes in the way designers think.
The revolutionary product technology, facing a relatively big challenge, is the regulation. In the process of creating automotive products, the biggest lagging behind is the regulations. In the era of electric vehicles, perhaps the transportation facilities have become different, and now all the transportation facilities are set for fuel vehicles, and the automatic driving technology is becoming more and more mature in the future, and the regulations have not kept up.
On the other hand, the perception of the general public will also constrain the realization of new technologies. For example, the square steering wheel has long been there, but the average user is still difficult to accept; the steering wheel has to turn two or three times to hit the bottom, in fact, the technology can fully realize that only less than 90 degrees to turn to the limit, but this feeling, the general public driving habits can not accept, not technology can not do.
Point seven: the principle of Nezha car design: be sure to do honest design
Nezha S (Photo by Su Yunong)
Chang Bing said that the brand of Nezha is for whom to build the car, which determines the fundamental things of the brand. Chang Bing himself once said that he did not want to join a car company that built cars for the elites of first-tier cities, because the first-line elites did not lack cars and could choose many good cars; but the ordinary public who had never bought a car, for the demands of the car, the existing products did not meet the needs well. The founding team of Nezha Automobile reached a consensus that it must build cars for the 800 million people who occupy the main body of China's income group. Therefore, the Nezha automobile team has determined a principle that within the next three or five years, Nezha's products will be priced between 50,000 and 250,000, hoping to provide products to the general public and people with rigid needs for cars.
Therefore, the car made by Nezha never engages in bluff design, Chang Bing proposed, the requirement for the design team is to do honest design, do not do fancy cars. Chang Bing believes that hoping that Nezha's design looks like what it is, don't let people feel that it is one state, and it is another state to use.
Viewpoint 8: The most recognized design in addition to Nezha comes from GAC Aeon
When asked about the most recognized car design in recent times, Chang Bing replied that the current homogenization of automobiles is more serious, and it is difficult to have a wonderful design in ten years and eight years. Chang Bing believes that there were many wonderful designs in the 1990s, but after entering the 2000s, there were fewer. But after the era of electrification, this deadlock has broken a lot. For his own products, Chang Bing said that Nezha U is the first product in his career to be made almost exactly according to his own ideas, and this process is very "cool" for designers.
Chang Bing laughed and said that when peers see other people's works, they can immediately see how much grievance has been suffered in the design process. Chang Bing personally appreciates GAC Aian's AION Y, he believes that this car design breaks through GAC's previous design ideas, very unique, using a lot of bold ideas, this idea can be mass-produced, but also get good feedback from users, indicating that the Chinese market's tolerance for forward-looking design is very good, will enhance the expectations of other brands to do more in-depth exploration.
Point Nine: The process of developing a magic child is simple and joyful
Recently, Nezha Automobile launched an electric toy product designed for children, Magic Child, which is a children's electric vehicle priced at 2999 yuan, which is carefully created by the designers of Nezha Automobile's team. Different from the general toys, the designers of Nezha Automobile are not less serious than the real vehicle when creating this car, and they have to open molds and pass various verifications. Chang Bing said that when developing this car, the supplier also said that the development requirements of Nezha Automobile are the highest. Including the use of car-grade paint and leather, it will raise the standard of the entire stroller industry.
Nezha car design magic child
Chang Bing introduced that the idea of developing the magic child came from a model made by a designer on the team for the child. After exhibiting at the Shanghai Auto Show, it was found to be very popular with users, and the real development began, the whole process was simple and happy, and the team used their spare time to carry out. Starting from the development of Magic Boy, Nezha Automobile also set up a derivative design department to make more products closely related to user life.