Automobiles must embody a brand’s philosophy and identity recognizable at a glance. This is the belief of Jung Woo-sung, Senior Director at the Porsche Design Center.
Porsche Korea held a Porsche Master Design Class on the 4th at Porsche Now Seongsu in Seoul. The event was led by Jung Woo-sung (44), the Senior Director of Exterior Design at Porsche Design Center. Jung, a veteran designer with 17 years of experience at Porsche after graduating from Hongik University in 2004 and starting as an intern in 2006, shared insights into automotive design.
Jung explained the importance of understanding both brand identity and product identity in automotive design. He emphasized, “Brand identity is when people recognize the car at a glance,” while “Product identity is distinguishing different models based on details like the lights or roof line.” In essence, a car must be instantly recognizable, a cornerstone of Jung’s design theory.
Automotive design should reflect the brand’s history and design heritage. Establishing the golden ratio of a car’s width and height, the distinctive falling roof line of Porsche is a testament to its design lineage.
The driver-centric dashboard width and low seat position have survived from the early 901 model of the 1964 911 to the 2019 992 model. This design heritage is also deeply ingrained in the four-door electric sports car, the Taycan.
Design starts four years before the launch of a new model. At the event, Jung demonstrated automotive design sketches using a Wacom tablet. These sketches serve as the foundation for designs that undergo 3D modeling. After that, a full-scale model that resembles the final version is created from clay, involving both exterior and interior design. This collaborative process culminates in the final release model through extensive discussions among designers.
Porsche maintains its design philosophy and heritage while also fostering designers’ creativity through a concept called Unseen. Although these concepts may not reach production, they represent the future vision of Porsche that designers aspire to realize.
Is there ever a conflict between design heritage and personal design philosophy? Jung gave a clear answer: “There is an Unseen project where the company encourages you to express freely, but as the design goes through the actual production process, it must reflect Porsche’s design philosophy and heritage,” underscoring the importance of the end design product.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr