Probably every neighborhood from New York to California and Maine
to Florida has a kid who likes to draw cars. And maybe those kids will
proudly announce that when they grow up they are going to be car
designers. For many, that dream will fall by the wayside but for a
select few it will become reality. In the early mid-forties, Giorgietto
Giugiaro and Marcello Gandini were a couple of Italian kids who like to
draw cars. Today, they are Italy's top designers.
The vehicle
designer is responsible for creating the exterior and interior
appearance of over the road vehicles. Generally, these are automobiles
but trucks, vans, coaches, and motorcycles are also included.
The
designers usually work in teams. One person does the exterior, another
the interior and a third works with colors, materials and trim. The
working environment and working conditions are pleasant. It is a
risk-free career that does not usually require overtime or weekend work.
A
design begins with a set of digital or manual sketches. Once these are
approved by management, more detailed drawings follow. Then clay models
or digital models are developed. The same procedure is followed for
exterior, interior, and color and trim design.
However the road
from car sketches to the design studio is paved with hard work beginning
in high school. Auto design is one of the most competitive careers in
the design industry. Consequently the competition to gain admission to
the colleges that offer transportation design classes is fierce.
Prospective
designers need to begin in high school with all the two-dimensional
drawing classes they can fit into their schedule. But it isn't enough to
just be able to draw a car. They also need to understand aerodynamics,
engineering concepts and ergonomics. They will be working with figures
so knowledge of math and physics is required.
And throughout high
school they need to work on building a drawing portfolio. All colleges
require a portfolio. And it goes without saying that the better the
portfolio, the better the graduate's chances of being accepted by a
prestigious institution.
