Press Release
Interior design development: high tech looks combined with real world practicality
- Interior design complements and expands on the exterior design themes
- Technical character is combined with sophisticated design and materials
- Steering wheel and gear lever encapsulate the functionality and the inspired use of materials inside iosis
We know that design is a prime motivator when it comes to buying a car. You have to keep pushing forward within the bounds of good taste. The absence of the B pillars typifies this approach in iosis; it gives a spectacular view of the interior when the doors are open.
Martin Smith, Ford of
Under the overall direction of Nikolaus Vidakovic, Chief Designer Interiors and Ruth Pauli Chief Designer Colour and Trim, a dramatic and futuristic interior has been created for iosis that is totally in keeping with the car's exterior.
The interior follows the same direction as the exterior design, says Vidakovic, but it can only follow that to a certain point: a car interior must always have an inviting ambience.
For interior designers Ernst Reim and Tony Peat the exterior proved a strong stimulus: The most dominant aspect for me is the stance and proportion and the overall sense of dynamism, both sporting and muscular," said Peat.
We needed to get a lot of that surface language into the interior. Often the exterior and interior can be quite separate with different form languages. But because of the way the doors open on iosis there had to be an instant visual link between the interior and exterior.
It was a similar process that led Ruth Pauli and her colour and trim designers Silke Welskopp and Laura Blossfeld to employ distinctive materials for iosis.
However, as she explains other factors outside the motor industry played a pivotal role in the choice of trim materials and colours: There's a need to interpret the dynamic sporty exterior in a very modern way," said Pauli. "The vital thing was to connect futuristic materials with sophisticated materials; there are very technical materials like rubber combined with leather, combined with neoprene and high quality aluminium components. The ambience we wanted to create was a combination of a technical character with sophistication.
Tony Peat wanted to create a light, airy interior through the subtle use of structures and materials, whilst emphasising the driver orientation, Ford cars are appreciated as being driver oriented and we wanted to focus in on that, he says.
The interior team wanted the driver to be enticed by the interior as the doors swung open. Immediately apparent is the ultra modern steering wheel fashioned from solid aluminium with contrasting orange glove leather grips and a black leather airbag pad.
Both Pauli and Peat are proud of the 'futuristic, aircraft fighter meets sportsbike' design cues : Pauli has worked in the aircraft industry and Peat is a self-confessed 'bike enthusiast'.
The best example of this approach is in the Focus World Rally Car inspired sequential gear shifter, just a hand span from the steering wheel. Beautifully crafted from solid aluminium and finished in a unique anodised soft warm brown-grey with orange leather it embodies all the themes running through the interior: contemporary craftsmanship, high quality materials and a touch of surprise and delight technology with the starter button mounted beneath a flip lid on top of the shifter.
Ahead of the driver is a simple instrument binnacle, featuring counterbalanced needles as in a high quality chronometer. Between the dials is a high definition LCD display for navigation or to display views from the three rearward facing cameras.
Vidakovic describes the centre stack as the car's art gallery, housing auxiliary switchgear that can be used in conjunction with, or instead of, touch screen controls for navigation, in-car entertainment or air-conditioning controls.
The centre stack also houses docking points for a pair of memory sticks. It is possible in the future that rather than using a conventional key or even keyless entry, a memory stick would be used. As well as acting as a security device, it would also contain the driver's personal preferences for radio stations, routes, screen configuration, even driving preferences.
All the sections from the instrument panel through to the centre stack and through to the console reflect the dramatic forms of the exterior. The instrument panel itself is a slim and complex form that sweeps around the front occupants of the vehicle.
The interiors team have developed eye-catching seats, their skeletal frames featuring a ribcage and vertebrae structure fashioned from aluminium and formed rubber. Separating the front seats is a 'flying bridge' centre console housing the electronic parking brake. When viewed from the rear seats the cues drawn from motorcycle design are very evident.
The analogy with exhausts is pertinent since the air vents, which have a push-pull control that unfurls the vanes like a petal, were inspired by a jet fighter's afterburners. This imagery of a jet's thrust is highlighted in the doors by aluminium inserts which flow and taper away from the vents.
Another surprising feature of the interior is the extensive use of electroluminescent foil to illuminate the doors and ceiling. I n addition to being very package friendly, it emits a gentle, even light and can be cut into any shape, hence the roof pattern reminiscent of Peruvian Nazca geoglyphs.
Ruth Pauli was keen to move Ford's use of colours and materials forward by exploring new combinations: I wanted to create an ambience with very technical metals and other finishes in combination with very fresh and crisp modern looking materials. A key image we kept coming back to was of a 'combat swimmer.' As a result, neoprene has been used in a technical orange shade and in dark charcoal featuring the same stitching used on wet suits, especially in touch areas."
A unique leather finish has been specially developed for iosis that has a subtle metallic look. It still has a natural grain in a deep charcoal tone and the top surface is picked out with a subtle graphite shade.
Other contact areas such as the steering wheel and the shifter combine the stark, cold hardness of bare metal with the peach skin softness of orange glove leather. Whilst the centre stack and console is a combination of leather in their upper portions melding into rubber in the lower section to achieve a distinctive graphic split down to the floor covering.
For the floor, conventional carpeting has been replaced with a more rugged, structured weave with technical silver highlights.
The interior architecture is quite simple in itself, explains Vidakovic, but its design shines through in its detailed execution and the choice of contrasting materials unusual in automotive applications.
Ford of Europe design group: reinforcing a European outlook
Martin Smith has restructured Ford of Europe's design group in recognition of the increasing complexity and volume of design work that will be demanded by the developing automotive market place: Ford is a pan-European brand, not German or British, and we want to be recognised as such. My aim is that we will deliver products which will have a distinct European flavour and appeal.
Ford's two European design centres are in Merkenich in
Chris Bird's role as Director of Design Integration and Operations is key in the integration of the role of Stefan Lamm, who leads exterior design across all vehicle lines, and Nikolaus Vidakovic who is the cross-carline interior design lead.
Claudio Messale heads up production design and execution, using his design skill and engineering knowledge to maintain the integrity of designs as they are executed in production. Additionally, Ruth Pauli leads colour and trim across all product lines.
Supporting the design leadership team is a series of lead designers and design managers responsible for each product line.
