Description
When an Automotive Manufacturer Seeks External Design Support
“We’re not stupid. We noticed perfectly well that the designers aren’t Porsche people.”
With this remark, the Chairman of SAIC caused a moment of surprise during a presentation in Shanghai — and gave us a reason to smile.
But let’s start from the beginning.
Design is an especially sensitive subject for an automotive manufacturer. It embodies a fundamental part of a company’s identity. That is why it is far from a given for a manufacturer like Porsche to seek external support for design projects.
The fact that Target Design was chosen for several projects was therefore a particular distinction for us.
Trust Through Experience
Before founding Target Design in 1980, H-G Kasten spent many years gaining experience in Porsche Styling. He knows the development processes, high standards and distinctive design culture of the company firsthand.
This understanding formed an important foundation for the collaboration. Target Design supported Porsche on various projects – including work related to the 911 and 987, as well as an unusual external client project for Chinese automotive manufacturer SAIC.
This project was to become a particular challenge.
Design and Engineering in Parallel
SAIC was planning the development of a 15-seater minibus.
What made the project unusual was that design and engineering were to be developed simultaneously.
Simultaneous design was a new experience for us at the time as well. While the design was being developed, the engineers were already working in parallel on its technical implementation.
This required one thing above all: exceptionally close and precise communication. Porsche therefore integrated Target Design into the design team and presented us to the end client as part of the team.
Following the ideation phase, we developed the 3D models, which had to serve several purposes simultaneously: They formed the basis for the client presentation, supported the subsequent engineering development and provided the starting point for our model making.
We modelled the dashboard at a 1:1 scale. The exterior of the 15-seater minibus was produced at a scale of 1:2.5. This allowed us to evaluate the design three-dimensionally at an early stage and continuously refine it in parallel with the technical development.
The Presentation in Shanghai
The final presentation took place at SAIC in Shanghai. We had the opportunity to personally support Porsche at this important meeting.
The presentation was a success. Afterwards, however, the Chairman created a memorable moment with a remark. In essence, he said:
“We’re not stupid. We noticed perfectly well that the designers aren’t Porsche people. But we’re very happy with the design. We can’t say the same about the engineering.”
The Porsche project manager in charge replied:
“Yes, that’s true. But we know who can do this kind of work.”
For an external design studio, there could hardly have been a stronger endorsement.
External Support Requires Trust
The project demonstrated exactly what matters when an automotive manufacturer brings in external design expertise.
Not just good ideas.
But a deep understanding of the brand, experience with complex development processes and the ability to integrate seamlessly into existing structures.
For Porsche, Target Design was not simply an external design agency on this project. We were able to combine the perspective of an independent studio with experience gained from working directly within Porsche Styling.
When an automotive manufacturer seeks external design support, it needs to be able to trust that the external expertise understands and can credibly represent its own design culture.
In this project in Shanghai, that trust was confirmed in a particularly charming way.
