We will have our car soon, but what about Pininfarina?
Thanks to the domestic and national automobile initiative, the whole of Turkey got acknowledged of the name Pininafarina. However, Pininfarina has a history of almost 100 years and has designed the tower of Istanbul Airport very recently in Turkey.
Pininfarina, which was founded by automobile designer Sergio Pininfarina in Turin, Italy in the 1930s, has worked on the design of well-known automobile brands that you can find almost all over the world. (Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati, Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, Honda, Ford)
Today, in addition to proactive automobile designs, their fast-consuming products such as textile products, mobile phones, coffee machines, bicycles, toothbrushes and shoes bear his signature. Upon these, they give prioritise to work with the brands of Italian origin
In addition, it is important to mention the design of the tower of Istanbul Airport and the cable car with a crystal cabin in the Swiss Alps as examples of the flashy architectural projects they have designed. (It should be underlined that these projects are great designs that give an identity to the city.)
There are even commercial products such as pens, key chains, models, table accessories and even perfumes. Pininfarina is an extraordinary design office working like setting their shoulders to the wheel.
The team keeps the tradition as they have maintained for years by saying that we are here almost everywhere. They strengthen their power by dominating the markets we mentioned. When we look at the success stories, we encounter something very simple; first, they created a school for themselves and then they produced it in a continuous and varied way. (We can say that this school actually fed directly from the “Italians do it better” perspective.)
Let's remember the Ferrari Testarossa 1984 model made by Pininfarina. It is still a masterpiece sought by car collectors today. It is one of the few models that almost all of us think of when we say this is Ferrari. So how did they achieve this? Have they dreamed of becoming a desirable object among car collectors?
The answer is simple, of course, but very difficult to put into practice. Even in the smallest details, they created elegance and reflected this in all their designs. This allowed them to be a few steps ahead of other brands.
Putting all that aside, Pininfarina isn't even a purebred Italian brand anymore. 70% of it was bought by the Indian Mahindra group, and a considerable naming right was given to the family members.
As the discussions in our country continue, our main question should be: What will we do, how will we do it? Shall we take the path of Pininfira as an example and develop ourselves in design outside of the mechanical fields?
Are we going to buy such a well-established brand with money like the Indian group and set targets that will earn the CEO and CFO a percentage commission every year?
When we look at the geography we live in, it is possible to come across people from every religion and nation. The dynamic population is consuming more and more each day, the requirements determined by real needs are shaped and multiplied by almost every user/consumer. In fact, pre-ordering some products, before they are released, is the trend approach of recent times.
Let's list the responsibilities of visual designers in this regard as follows;
Being aware of these conditions, we should analyze the whole process well and be more courageous than ever in production. At least, even producing will take you one step ahead. (we almost even import our staple foods, can you imagine?)
You've drawn, illustrated, modelled, dimensioned, over and over, and it looked impressive on paper. You should definitely pour this into 3 dimensions, discuss it a lot, and even chastise your work. The design will let you know that it is ready to communicate with you, the answers to the questions you ask, before putting a full stop at the end of the question pattern.
A concept design may be pleasing for you and may excite you, but you shouldn't be fascinated by it and you shouldn't be content with it. If it does not necessarily meet the need as a function, it will leave your customer, and therefore you, in the lurch. Do not forget that the development of our country in the automotive or other industries will be possible with the effective contribution of us, the designers, to production.
Emre Ezelli for Bolvitamin
January 2020
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