NEW DELHI :

Kenneth Lee, Senior Design Director, Nissan Global, from the United States of America, who is “originally from Hong Kong,” has been working in Japan for the past seven years. Fresh from the launch of the Nissan Patrol, in Abu Dhabi recently, he was in New Delhi, for the launch of the New Nissan Magnite, earlier this month, when TURN OF SPEED caught up with him and he fielded a few questions on auto design. 

TOS: What does designing cars entail? What do Indian buyers look for in their cars? 

KL: From a foreigner’s perspective, the first thing that strikes me is the environment the cars are being used in. Never ever have I seen such density of vehicles moving at such fast speed, so close to each other. In this kind of an environment, you want to feel secure and protected, but at the same time you have to be agile, so, when we engineer the vehicle, it is meant to do that and not just in terms of the size and handling, but also from the design perspective, and the appearance. When you walk up to the car you feel… “oh, it’s compact, its agile, and it will get me through this type of driving.” So, I think, that is most important.

When we design it’s not necessarily the same as engineering, but we work at controlling the dimensions. Even though the car has a certain footprint, we take the corners, we tuck them in, so the car looks even more dense and compact. We find the customers here quite savvy with tech and they have very high expectations so, we cannot disappoint them. The New Magnite is the “democratization of the B-segment SUV,” and so, we have to make it appealing to everybody as people want all the bells and whistles. How do we bring it to them at a good price point, I think that is the biggest challenge. For us as designers, when we choose premium materials every stitch we put out, is done strategically, including the place where it will be appreciated. We don’t waste materials by putting it where nobody will feel it, and so we have to be so sensitive and conscious of that. It’s a left brain, right brain thing…we need both.

TOS: How do you decide on the colour palates for a colourful country such as ours?

KL: You asked about India, but as with any country, there are different personalities living within each country, so we try to make something appealing, especially when it comes to such a High Character Product. For the masses, we offer basic colours such as white and black, and for people who want to kind of blend in, yet add a little twist… we have the two-tone so that they can choose the roof in a different accent colour. A lot also depends on the level of how much one wants to express themselves, and of course, for the maximalists, there is the New Sunrise Orange Copper… it doesn’t matter which country you’re in, there is always going to be somebody like that.

TOS: Flat front vehicles were big in Japan only a few years back, what’s the next big trend?  

KL: Japan is a very unique place where space is at a premium and that’s why you see the flat front because you box out the car to maximize the short footprint. If you make a car rounded, space is wasted and so, in Japan, you get boxes. We do see regional trends emerging. A car designer’s job is probably tough because we’ve got to make a car that will not just sell in one country but in multiple countries, so you have to find what are the common things that people love around the world and you’ve got to appeal to those kinds of emotions and desires. We have to be agile and quick to adapt because there is a lot of new competition which moves fast. So, what we’re doing now at Nissan is looking at developing cars quicker, listening to customers faster, and coming up with the next one. That in my mind the biggest trend.

TOS: Is the sunroof trend here to stay or is it on its way out?

KL: That’s a very tough one to predict because that’s a very personal thing. Some people I know love it and then some don’t want it on their cars because they think it’s a waste of space and money. I think there are many reasons now to do it because some segments of cars are getting lower and sleeker, we’re seeing sportier versions also, and to bring light into the cabin you have to offset not having enough light from the sides… so there are different reasons to have a sunroof, depending on the segment and type of vehicle. I wouldn’t say there is a trend to have more or less sunroof, it is more of a trend to creatively use them to one’s benefit as we discover new segments. We have to keep inventing new ways of doing it.

TOS: Who have you been inspired by? 

KL:  Historically there are many famous, influential designers, but one philosophy that I’m really inspired by is that of Raymond Loewy’s from the 1930s. He said “Most Advanced. Yet Acceptable. (MAYA),” I think it is especially applicable when we design. At a company such as Nissan where we’re designing products for several people, we have to innovate, but we can’t go over the edge and make something that people will reject. I always try to remember that when we design because we create something new and say “wow this is so cool, but will people like this” that is the key question.

TOS: There’s so much happening in China in terms of auto design. Your thoughts…

KL: Of course, we have to always watch and be aware. It’s actually quite inspirational… the speed at which everything is happening… the quality, the calibre...

TOS: Is that true only of China or is it Worldwide?

KL: I think when one country is doing it, automatically all the other countries are going to as well…it’s a race. It actually keeps everyone on their feet and so natural competition is good, it makes us do better things, that’s what I have to say.

TOS: What are the learnings from your visits to India?

KL: The five cars you saw under covers… I am working on them and work brings me to India often, in fact, this is my third time here within one year. When here, I spend a lot of time talking to the local market, hearing and very specifically, understanding what their aesthetic sense is… the teams here tell me. For example, in Indian culture the sense of detailing and harmony is so important, and in a way, that is a similarity with the Japanese. So, I do listen and we work very collaboratively with the regional and product planning teams. Sometimes, I sketch right in front of them and we collaborate and I quite enjoy it. For me, it is a big learning.

TOS: How does creative work at Nissan’s design studios happen across continents?

KL: Nissan Design is a global organization headquartered in Japan. I am based, in a city called Atsugi, and of course, we have a satellite studio in Tokyo as well as satellite studios all over the world. It is always a collaborative process. Sometimes all the studios compete with each other… we launch a new project and then everybody makes proposals and one wins. The creative part can be done anywhere. On the new Magnite, for instance, the creative part was done in Atsugi and the Japanese designer traveled to India to meet with his counterpart. In the creative phases of collaboration, after the theme is set, we work on the phase where we engineer the car and bring it to fruition, and the majority of that [for the Magnite] was done in Chennai, India. That’s a lot of late nights, time differences, and travel, so definitely, our process are collaborative. 

TOS: On the new Magnite what aspect would you term ‘challenging?’

KL: It seems like everything (Laughs). I can’t identify one thing because everything was equally difficult, but I would say that the biggest challenge was how to pack all of this and still meet the price point.

TOS: What does the future look like at Nissan? 

KL: At Nissan, what we’re doing in the future, including India, is asking how do we stand out because in the modern world efficiencies are getting better, EVs are coming, and while the characteristics might get more similar, the way we make designs has to stand out. We always talk about what is High Character Design, and in that sense, we might be different between your Magnite, a Patrol, and a Z… they are different Characters… so we need to liberate ourselves looking at each product segment and determining what makes High Character. Some companies decide that this is our headlight, this is our grille, and we are going to put this on every car. At Nissan, we don’t do that. Of course, there is a debate in the design department about whether we should do that or not, and we need to respect each customer in each country and so, we try to make something that first and foremost appeals. This is what we’re doing differently from the other car companies, and we will keep doing it in the future.