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Nissan's senior manager color and design strategy Francois Farion on the importance of objects in keeping focus [w/Video]

Nissan's Francois Farion, senior manager, color and design strategy, features in a new video giving an insight into how important objects are to designers when communicating, defining and maintaining their design intentions. A lot of time and energy goes into designing a car and so, Farion says, it's vital that designers keep their focus throughout the process. He believes objects are the key to creating coherent designs.

Lotus and Daniel Simon collaborate on C-01 hyperbike project

Lotus has announced the impending launch of its first motorcycle, the C-01, penned by automotive designer and futurist Daniel Simon. The C-01, previewed on the left, will be a hyperbike with integrated racing technology made from materials such as carbon, titanium and aerospace quality steel, and will be powered by a 200hp engine. It is designed to reflect a combination of lifestyle, design and high-end technology.

Fiat Panda (2012) first official pictures

This is Fiat’s new 2012 Panda – incredibly, only the third generation of Panda in the range’s 31-year history. Not that buyers seem to mind the glacial rate of progress: Fiat has sold 6.5m Pandas over the past three decades. The new 2012 Panda squeezes more space into the compact footprint; it’s 3650mm long, 1640mm wide and 1550mm high – enough, says Fiat, for five passengers and the biggest boot in segment.