Graduate Directory 2020: Transport

Marcus Lawson
Coventry School of Art and Design, UK

Lawson’s ’Eurybia’ is a conceptual fire-fighting plane, an increasingly pressing need in this era of rapid climate change, iInspired by the iconic Bombardier 415 ’superscooper’ with an efficient ’closed wing’. Lawson is also predicting a post-combustion engine future for our roads, citing Volvo as a current pioneer, as well as drawing inspiration from the creations of Lego.

Jude Fan
Coventry School of Art and Design, UK

’I’m inspired by the great cars of the early 2000s,’ says Fan, ’the BMW Z4, Lamborghini Murcielago, Aston Martin DB9.’ Fan also rates contemporary designs by Mazda and Volvo, as well as the new auto start-ups, and expects the end of conventional car ownership and a greater emphasis on efficiency. Fan’s conceptual ecosystem blends architecture, technology and mobility. ’I designed the house floorplan around the vehicle to provide with a seamless experience, improved people flow and connection linking private, public space.’

Haoyue Jia
Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden

Jia’s impressively conceived Volvo Compact Concept previews a small city car for the year 2030. ’I see mobility as an approach to freedom of movement; it doesn’t matter if private ownership no longer exists.’ Mixing the Swedish company’s purist design language with the practicalities of urban travel, the VCC is small but perfectly formed. ’At Umeå I was influenced by other disciplines, like product and interaction design.’ Currently working in China, Jia believes an autonomous world is ’just around the corner.’

Marc Faulhaber
Hochschule Für Design, Pforzheim, Germany

Marc Faulhaber’s VW Concept encapsulates his view that ’many people see the car changing from a status symbol towards a pure object of utility.’ The modular design can swap out a passenger compartment for freight and vice versa, with lines evolved from VW’s crisp contemporary approach. Faulhaber cites recent Mazda designs as being especially strong and is currently working at design and engineering specialists Volke.

Saurabh Nimsarkar
ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, USA

Nimsarkar’s Mod-Liv is ’a home on wheels for an autonomous era,’ a fusion of automotive design cues with a modular mobile home approach. ’It questions our current day dwelling and placemaking practices and embraces nomadic and minimal lifestyles,’ he says. Like many other Transportation graduates, Nimsarkar envisions a future of improved infrastructure and smarter connectivity. ’Car brands will embrace and offer personal mobility devices as a part of their eco-system’. Inspiration comes from the work of Ora ïto and Superflux, as well as a world beyond commercial and marketing agendas.

Thibaud Porcherot
Strate School of Design, Paris, France

Porcherot’s Land Rover Icelander looks forward to a world of automotive experiences, driven by brands and technology, but distinct and different from conventional car owning. ’Mobility design is no longer about designing a beautiful car or object – it’s about about creating meaningful vehicles.’ Porcherot admires the interior-focused concepts developed using ’outside-in’ design. ’I try to be curious. The social aspect is becoming more and more important in mobility, and I think that’s something we can learn from architecture or product design.’

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