by Bonnie Friend
My day always starts with…
…reading emails, usually from our head office in Japan.
On the journey to work I listen to…
…the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2. I started listening to him because he sounds exactly like my daughter’s English teacher… and it is kind of fun.
Our working environment is unique because…
…we have a closed-off area within the company with the highest levels of secrecy and security. Not everyone can come into the design studio – it’s a very small team and we work closely together.
The first thing we do when we’re designing a new product is…
…research. Then the design starts with the creation of the concept car. We choose from the initial sketches and then start the 3D modelling, either in clay or digital depending on the project. For the recent Civic Type R Concept, we had several designers and digital modellers working together – there can be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing figuring out potential problems and piecing the puzzle together.
At the moment…
…we are trying to absorb as much information as possible about the European way of life to inform the future products. Understanding those needs is an important part of my role as an expat from the Japanese headquarters because it can be very difficult to know what people need and want when you are that far away.
My favourite part of the design process is…
…working on the physical model and seeing the ideas come to life in their full size. Sometimes the ideal shape and everything that needs to go into it don’t seamlessly come together; working that out with engineers is really interesting.
When we’re launching a new product or heading to a big motor show…
…it’s very busy and often involves working right up until the last minute. For the Paris Motor Show this year the side graphics on the Civic Type R needed to be repeatedly tested and refined. It can be very intense, but it’s gratifying when the results get a positive reaction.
Most projects are the result of…
…a team effort. We have to pick one sketch or idea at the start from which to take direction, but that is done as a group and we work together to make it a reality.
Computer-aided design is…
…a much bigger thing now than it was 20 years ago but we still draw with pens and pencils. It’s an important part of the process to draw and use clay models because that’s how you really get a sense of what a project is going to be like in its final format.
The thing I enjoy most about my work is…
…creating something new and seeing it being used by other people out in the world. I think that’s something quite unique to automotive designers – you wouldn’t get it designing most other products.
The strangest thing that has happened to me at work…
…was when I designed the FCX Concept for the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show and I saw the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, who has been one of my idols since I was young, standing in front of the model looking at it! That was a very strange feeling!
The biggest misconception about my work is…
…it’s flashy. A lot of people think I just draw cars all day, but there is a lot of process involved and in reality that creative element is just a small part of it. I still have to answer a lot of emails!
At the end of the day…
…I am quite good at switching off so I hardly ever have any nightmares about models falling apart! When I am not in work mode everything can be a source of inspiration. I have a one-hour commute to work, so that’s a good time to observe cars on the road. When it was really foggy on the M4 one day, I was intrigued by the way fog lights are designed and how people use them. I made a short report the next day to send to Japan.
