If it’s good enough for the World’s Coolest Brand…

Marek Reichman is the long-standing and highly respected Design Director at Aston Martin Lagonda, a brand that’s weathered the storms of 100+ years of hard-fought survival. Voted by the British public as being the Coolest Brand globally, pipping Apple to the top spot in several years, what can designers from all disciplines learn from the chief arbiter of automotive taste? I will list five things that stood out from late April’s presentation by Marek very kindly hosted by Aston Martin Bristol. 

#1 Know the rules by heart

Very fittingly, the first third of Marek’s talk deep-dived into the Golden Ratio and how that informs every form of each new design. Describing how nature abides by the rule of thirds/two-thirds, such as the formation of wave forms in the sand on a beach, there was a great show of passion and pride in how Aston’s latest products follow this in many areas. With animated pointing to very considered lines, 3D forms and details laid down on the aggressive new Aston Martin Vantage before the audience, it was clear for all that the 1:1.61 ratio is revered within Aston’s creative studios. There was a tangible sense of satisfaction in the knowledge that Marek’s team achieved the Golden Ratio to within 9 decimal places of accuracy with the recently released DB11 grand tourer in one key aspect.

There will be countless rules and principles by which the Aston Martin creative team are guided with each task. Many of these could be taught in a sterile lecture or online in countless learning resources. But it’s translating these core essentials into practical, functional and beautiful results that requires more than mere regurgitation.

The resultant product has to be a result of the spark that takes place in a creative’s mind where rules and inspiration are continuously churned together, often conflicting but always refining. For most, the only way to achieve this level of creativity is to work tirelessly over many years learning from your mistakes and successes.

#2 Know the rules of others

If you’re a designer, it is relatively easy to be fascinated by the rules that define your craft alone. However, no profession works in isolation as it’s the quickest route to irrelevance. Instead, you have to play well with others. Know what drives their needs and goals. 

As if to prove this, Marek went out of his way to talk about the headlights on the new Vantage. In isolation, not that interesting to many, but for insight into how the creative team work within Aston, it was priceless.

Left: new Vantage; Right: previous Vantage. Images copyright Aston Martin Lagonda, Limited

It may be recognition that upon first view of the latest Vantage, replacing a classical flowing design that served Aston since its Ford ownership days, voices were raised about the “face” of the new breed. Emphasising the marketing message that the new model was all about being the “hunter” in the range, this theme is perhaps clearest in the car’s minimal headlights. Thin and aggressive, they set the scene for the remainder of the bodywork. 

The reasoning behind the headlight’s profile and placement became clearer as Marek described the consequences on both engineering and design if things changed. Any larger, and the units would have meant encroachment on the internal wheel arch. As a consequence, this would have either meant repositioning higher up the bodywork, which in turn results in an extension of the nose, increasing front overhang. This would have not only reduced the sharp hunter look, but also affect the mass and weight distribution of the sports car.

As with all designs, there are imposed constraints. You can argue against them, break rules, force others to compromise to cater for you. But ultimately, you would be working against the optimum overall result.

#3 Serve a master plan

With full design responsibility being levelled directly at Marek, it is his defined job to get his contribution to the product right. In one of Marek’s throw-away comments, it was without any doubt that Dr Palmer doesn’t dominate design decisions, preferring to leave that to the creative team—the professionals. How many design teams can claim to receive minimal “artistic direction” from management?

Aston do not resort to common automotive industry practices of testing designs through customer clinics as these risk watering things down. This very much echoes a memorable response I once received from renowned product designer Dick Powell, founder of Seymourpowell and D&AD chairman, when I interviewed him several years ago:

Consumers have no idea what they want. Even now, never mind in the future.

Indeed, even if this ultimate creative power also brings greater responsibility, followed by a naked vulnerability if results based on your efforts differ from what’s expected by your boss.

In 2014, Dr Andy Palmer joined Aston Martin as CEO. He inherited a company which was struggling (again), years after the deep pockets of Ford comforted the Midlands-based workforce. Its product line-up was fairly described as a series of Russian Dolls, each model a scaled version of the other. It was also losing money (again).

In the automotive world, Dr Palmer’s Second Century Plan has become a thing of wonder. Devising this plan was not a solo job. Marek and other high-level members of Aston management worked on the script, with the core being defined over a three-month period based on market analysis. 

There was even the unusual creative criteria quoted in 2017 by Aston’s CEO:

The brief is to make each model look like an Aston, but next to each other my 77-year-old mother must be able to tell them apart. 

From research, the outwardly-obvious conclusion was also drawn that customers are attracted to the brand by the car’s aesthetics as much as the promise of speed and purpose. This is all whilst remembering that Aston Martin has already passed its 100th birthday resulting in a vast catalogue of emotion and expectation pressed into every car panel.

So, the cars have to remain visually distinctive, speak of a related design language and pull on the heart strings, yet avoid becoming homogeneous.

Left: DB11; Right: new Vantage. Images copyright Aston Martin Lagonda, Limited

The new Vantage—the focus of the evening’s talk—is definitely distinctive from the first of the new wave of designs in the seven-year plan, the DB11 grand tourer. Equally, the forthcoming models recently previewed by Aston including an SUV and mid-engine show-stoppers are highly divergent in design and philosophy. Mission accomplished.

From a broader designer’s point of view, some parts of a plan may not make immediate sense. Worse still, they may appear completely contradictory to what is superficially obvious. Even if the sin of not ensuring design has a meaningful input in a plan’s formation,  it’s a duty of a designer to delve deeper, ask questions and gain understanding why something is requested and how it will benefit the wider team. As the saying goes, “Assumptions is the mother of all screw ups”. 

#4 Acknowledge the team

This point is concise. Marek leads a team of over 100 creatives. It will never be a single figurehead that generates all artistic content in this environment—the team is core to success. Acknowledgement of this is a vital strand in that most mocked of phrases “team building”.

With clear credit given to colleagues, the point was addressed.

#5 Don’t lose the basics

By professionally promoting digital tools in the design process, it could be thought that I would demand an immediate dive into screen-time with the generation of every masterpiece. Seemingly counter-intuitively, this is not so.

Over the years, I have been privileged to have met astonishingly talented creatives from all over the world. Many being modest, some less so, the one common link between the Best of the Best was the deep-rooted talent and desire to first put pen or pencil to paper. Napkins, coffee cups, immaculate Moleskines… you name it. If a mark can be made, eventually the substrate will be adorned with gushing strokes by the creative talent within.

So, as it came to the Q&A part of the evening, it was impossible to resist asking how important the pencil is to Marek and his team. Reassuringly, even if in a high-tech world of VR, 3D modelling, AI and more, a slim shaft of carbon wrapped in wood remains vital. 

If you want a job at Aston with a view to penning some of the most seductive profiles on wheels (or on the water, under water, in the air or reaching for the skyline) you will still be expected to make your mark on paper first. It turns out that this a non-optional part of the interview process.

...

In conclusion, you may find that this overview of the evening a little too gushing. Perhaps over-emphasis has been given to the official line that ultimately had to be towed to the surrounding well-healed clients. However, it became impossible to not agree with the talented creative leader that spoke with deep commitment and conviction of his team and trade.

The five messages that I highlighted are personal choices, also driven by personal industry-critical hobby horses that I regularly mount. Regardless, they remain essential aspects to success—ones ignored to a creative’s peril.

 ...

Watch the event; Aston Martin Bristol have posted a recording of much of the evening on Facebook.