Jose Luis Diaz de la Vega: Surprise and Delight by Design
June 7, 2005 | Levent OZLER
Jose Luis Diaz de la Vega talks about cars as objects with character which communicate something emotional.
"We don't drive them. We wear them, they are part of our clothes."
New-speak? Not quite. Vega, creative director at Volvo Car's strategic design and global studios in Barcelona and Gothenburg, is trying to explain the Scandinavian language of form and function.
He notes that in the 1990s, consumerism was strong and practical designs were the norm. But the beauty element was missing.
"Today, we want to show that a car can be safe and beautiful. We also want to surprise and delight ... give customers what they don't expect."
The first steps towards that is to take a deeper look at "luxury", a word hardly used in Scandinavia, where clean lines and function determine design.
Elsewhere, people want it, he says, and the onus is on companies like his to tap cultural input to keep abreast of trends, without relinquishing its Scandinavian identity and philosophy of life.
"The values will remain a constant. What will change is how we develop technology to meet changing demands."
Mexico-born Vega obtained his Master's degree in automotive design from the Royal College of Art in Britain, and has spent 15 years working in Europe, Asia and the United States.
He sees the need to respect the heritage of a compa
more: thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/5/29 (275)
793 impressions - 34,783 clicks
