THINK POSITIVE ABOUT THE FUTURE

I think we as designers have a responsibility for how tomorrow’s world will look like. Anything that a person can imagine can also become reality. Designers are the first to put ideas and concepts on paper and thus have the opportunity to influence our environment and the products of the future through positive design.

Let’s take the issue of air pollution as a major social challenge. Engineers are constantly developing alternative drive systems that reduce emissions. It is up to us designers to work on the solutions for the integration of such environmentally friendly alternatives and to creatively emphasize the advantages of the emission-better product. The structurally necessary charging stations also have to be designed in an appealing way.

In my years as designer at Magna, I was fortunate to work on the design team for future-oriented projects such as electric cars. The development of forward-looking vehicle concepts such as the combination of hydrogen and electric drive was extremely exciting. For example, I could design a hydrogen tank to be more aesthetic as a technology. But I also created an interface design where you could switch between the different drives, which I clearly presented in the interior. Furthermore, a lot of information such as memory status was displayed transparently and clearly.

So, during my time at Magna, I’ve learned that design has a big impact on whether a technology is adopted or not. This also applies to self-driving cars.

Even in today’s cars, the issue of digital, social information and communication is a challenge for the design in the ‘cockpit’. Due to the already restricted driving in traffic jams, with speed limits and with cruise control, one would rather be driven than drive oneself in order to do something useful, to work, to get information or to communicate. This inevitably leads to completely autonomous vehicles, which in turn have to be designed completely differently, since e.g. operating elements are no longer needed all the time..

Sustainable materials will also play a major role. This will completely change the interior design of all mobile vehicles.

Of course, flying is also becoming a more important topic. It’s not just about drones for transporting goods in cities, but also about air taxis. Aerodynamic design, lightweight construction through generative 3D printed design and bionics are the future topics for the improvement of vehicles and aircraft.And in the further future we will also deal more with space settlement and space tourism. For design, this means completely new areas of design.The other big topic beside the “mobility of the future in cities”, is the topic of “agriculture” and creating food.