Geely’s Peter Horbury uncovers secrets of brand identity and discusses cultural influences in car design
I have found that as a designer, a fresh pair of eyes often sees the differences that make a culture interesting. After taking over as design director at Volvo in 1991, I went to a student exhibition degree show in Gothenburg and one student had designed a park bench. The back of the seats had a certain curvature. And I said to the graduate, ‘that’s really Swedish, isn’t it?’ He didn’t see it because he had done it completely naturally but I recognised it as being a much shallower curve than you would ever see on the back of a chair in England, for example. It was unique to Sweden.
So these things started to play a role in both the exterior and interior of the Volvos we were doing at the time. That’s part of my philosophy – look at where you are and use it.
This content is available to subscribers only | Sign in
Unlock exclusive design knowledge, inspiration & connection.
Knowledge
Inspiration
Billed as $194 annually
Other currencies: £149 / €179 annually
Available to new subscribers only
Knowledge
Inspiration
Connection
Billed as $259 annually
Other currencies: £199 / €239 annually
Knowledge
Inspiration
Connection
Billed as $389 annually
Other currencies: £299 / €359 annually
Explore more subscription options.
For help with individual user subscriptions please contact:
Eric Ng
Eric.Ng@ultimamedia.com
For help with multi user subscriptions please contact:
Angela Yang
Angela.Yang@cardesignnews.com
Ford veteran Todd Willing is Ford’s new head of design, filling the role vacated by Anthony Lo earlier in 2024
Polestar has appointed Philipp Römers as its new head of design, replacing Maximilian Missoni who headed up the Swedish EV brand design department for six years
Jean-Arthur Madelaine-Advenier, previously head of interiors at Polestar, has joined Xiaomi as design director at the brand’s Munich studio
