The Designers, Pt5 – Richard Chung, Johnson Controls

Car Design News launched its first-ever Car Design Review yearbook at the Geneva Motor Show, featuring the award-winning Production Car and Concept Car Designs of 2013.

If you're interested in buying a copy of the 160-page yearbook this interview appears in, alongside trend reports, bespoke car design infographics and a special feature on Marcello Gandini, our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Car Design Review can be purchased here.

Name Richard Chung
Role VP industrial design & craftsmanship, Johnson Controls
Age,nationality 51, US
Location Shanghai, China
Education Art Center College of Design

"What I'm most proud of is our staff. In China, we were able to design three complete vehicle interiors for production cars that were launched in 2013, for our OEM customers.

"In the past when we've done total interior development with global OEM customers it was a joint effort where the theme came from the customer studio and we supported. But in the last few years we've taken responsibility in designing the whole interior as well as development and manufacturing, so that makes our position far more significant. And we have more coming.

"In January 2013 we revealed our Bespoke concept at the Detroit Auto Show. With participation from our global studios in China, Germany and the US, we really showed our worldwide collaborative capability in creating a premium interior solution with creative interior features such as the ‘zero gap door'.

"But 2014 is getting more interesting for us. On May 19, we signed a definitive agreement with Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems to form a global automotive interiors joint venture. This is expected to be complete in the first half of 2015. This JV creates the largest automotive interior supplier in the world and is truly exciting news for us and for our customers.

"Recently we also concluded the divestiture of our electronics division. While that means we no longer have a cockpit cluster and display and combined head-up display [HUD] business, it doesn't mean we will not support future HMI design applications on our design solutions.

"Our strength has been not so much on the electronic technology but how that technology is applied to meet consumer needs. In my view, HMI development in our industry still hasn't reached a maturity where it's better than the traditional dial and push-button.

"What used to be a one-step process is often two, or even three-to-five steps. So our designers are always focusing on how to come up with interior design solutions that are easy to use by everyone. We have a lot of talented people in our 13 global interior, seating and fabric design studios. It's a strong proposition as there are very few design studios that specialize in interiors and seating only.

"Our customer base is huge and just like our customers, we are a global company so our people get the opportunity to move around. We have 13 studios in 12 locations - including six in Asia, two in North America and five studios across Europe.

"As a supplier we not only have to come up with a cool design solution from a styling point of view, but also deliver relevant and functional interiors with innovative features, so our designers have to be well-rounded.

"We're currently in the conceptual phase of a project called IV25 (‘Interior Vision 2025') to be introduced in January 2015 in Detroit. Three global design studios are working on the three key rising topics for the year 2025, along with our technology discovery and product innovation groups.

"The topics will address global and regional trends with the potential to change the industry dramatically - such as autonomous driving. It will be a super-exciting and intriguing interior concept."

Concept

1. Nissan Blade Glider
2. Cadillac Elmiraj
3. Nissan IDx

"The Elmiraj is simply a beautiful, elegant, perfect country-club night-out car"

Production
1. BMW i3
2. Chevrolet Corvette C7
3. Porsche 918 Spyder

"The i3 breaks the new ground for the future of BMW - a smart, sensible, and ecological mobility solution that adapts to changing consumer trends such as car sharing"

By Guy Bird