The Distinction Between Designers and Stylists
I recently found myself in the situation of needing to clarify the word ‘designer’. I was credited as being the designer of a certain car for a major automotive company. An engineer with that company...
View ArticlePeter Stevens’ 2015 Geneva Show Review
Great lines, great colors and great marques in disarray? There were interesting opportunities to see some great colors and some fascinating contrast whilst looking at the same cars in different colors...
View ArticleAre Headlights to See or Be Seen?
When our forebears traveled in horse drawn vehicles the horses could see where to go at night and coach lamps were there to show if another wagon was coming towards them. It was only with the greater...
View ArticlePeter Stevens on Graphics on Formula 1 Cars
Thirty years or more ago I was asked to devise graphic identities for many racecars; it was great fun but I took the task very seriously. Back then most of the world watched sport on television on...
View ArticleStylish Classic Trucks – Where Have All The Futurists Gone?
There was a great period in architecture and design when people like Buckminster Fuller, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Gabriel Voisin and Norman Bell Geddes produced both concepts and artifacts...
View ArticleRecent Big Truck Design Trends – Can This Be The Future?
It was pretty clear last week that there were some great truck designs in the past, but are we now in a time when no company is brave enough to take chances in design terms? There are certainly many...
View ArticleWhere And Why Does A Design Movement Start? (Part 1)
When a group of influential forward thinkers find that they share a common philosophy that is at odds with contemporary thinking, a productive outcome can be the start of a new direction in art,...
View ArticleWhere And Why Does A Design Movement Start? (Part 2)
Atom Punk is sometimes called “Space age fetishism” but grew out of a fascination with the first Russian Sputnik space capsules, radioactive powers of super heroes, the space race between the US and...
View ArticleWhere And Why Does A Design Movement Start? (Part 3)
Different periods in history have resulted in a counter-culture movement, a rebellion put in motion by young people who were tired of the current state of things. We’ve already visited a few of these...
View ArticleRevisiting the 1967 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 ‘Stradale’
Less well known than many of the famous Italian automotive designers, Franco Scaglione was responsible for some of the most original designs of the 1960s and 70s. I plan to prepare a separate piece...
View ArticleIcons or Bygones: What is the Case for Retro Cars?
There is an ongoing project being undertaken by a number of companies for ‘The new London Taxi’. This project is as much about politics and tourism as it is about design. The current classic London...
View ArticlePeter Stevens on Working with Former GM Design VP Chuck Jordan
Many designers will tell you that Charles M. ‘Chuck’ Jordan (October 1927 – December 2010) was the most difficult man they ever worked with as will as tell you that he was a passionate designer and a...
View ArticleHow Loose Can a ‘Loose Sketch’ Be?
The first thing that a designer should do before starting to sketch is to decide what the sketches are for. This may sound obvious, but the answer should have an effect on how the sketches look. In my...
View ArticleGetting the Wheels in the Right Place
It always sounds so easy – if you get the wheels in the right place and the overhangs under control then the outcome should be a good looking car. There are some simple rules of proportion that always...
View ArticleBugatti – Where to Now?
As well as designing and making elegant and expensive – but a little out dated – road going sports cars, racing cars and the gigantic but fabulous ‘Royale’ intended for kings and heads of government,...
View ArticlePeter Stevens Shares His Thoughts on Becoming a Car Designer
A young school leaver recently asked me five simple questions about the automotive industry; the idea was that my answers might help the decision about whether to join a vehicle design course in the...
View Article
