In an interview with Business Week magazine, BMW design chief Adrian van Hooydonk discusses the design process at BMW, and the ongoing process of “creating the future.”
Before becoming head of design, Van Hooydonk penned the controversial 2002 7 Series and its unique rear end, erroneously dubbed the “Bangle Butt” in reference to then-design chief Chris Bangle. He said the “breakaway design” came from the increasing interested among consumers in individualistic vehicles.
Van Hooydonk said BMW does not use consumer committees to judge designs. “Twenty team opinions from designers are better than a consumer consensus about what’s best,” he said. “Consumers always will give an opinion based on what they know—they can say what they like or don’t like today. What we’re really asking ourselves today is what cars should be like in 2010 [...] DesignWorks replaces the need for consumer clinics because they work on futuristic products.”
