Lincoln opens first dedicated design studio for 40 years

Ford has opened the first dedicated Lincoln design center for 40 years in Dearborn, Michigan, as part of its ongoing brand reinvention.

Last August Ford announced it would be creating the studio for its luxury brand as well as increasing spending, giving it unique interiors and powertrains in an effort to differentiate it from the core Ford offerings.

The Lincoln Design Studio has been built on the campus of Ford's Product Development center and houses designers, sculptors, modelers and engineers who make up part of a larger Lincoln Product Development team that will create four new Lincoln vehicles by 2015.

Max Wolff, Lincoln's Director of Design, said: "We made it a priority to fit interior and exterior design teams into one space because often they are two separate work streams and therefore, two different sensibilities. Now everyone collaborates on one harmonious vehicle."

The carefully designed studio sits designers across from each other in open workspaces to encourage collaboration and open discussion with the Product Development team.

By Rufus Thompson