As a car designer, tape comes along with breakfast every day
Gaurang Nagre (February, 1989) is a young designer from India, who is currently doing his masters in Transportation Design at the Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden. He has won several prizes. During his BA thesis he did an award winning concept for Chevrolet.
Who or what has inspired you to become a designer?
“I come from a creative family. My father works as a designer and my cousins are equally skilled too. My mother doesn't understand much about design, but she has a keen eye for aesthetics. I used to paint from a very naive age and tried to balance it with my studies. After schooling I decided to try electronic engineering for a couple of years as a vocational subject, but wasn't able to make my space in the discipline. I therefore decided to amalgamate my art and engineering background and applied for Industrial Design at the National Institute of Design. It was the stage that NID offered me, that is helping me flourish as a designer and allowed me spend a semester in Melbourne, Australia as an exchange student. I am currently doing my masters in Transportation Design at the Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden. To sum it up it’s my passion and my family’s creative heritage that inspired me to become a designer.”
How would you describe the signature of your products and designs, what makes them special and what are the latest innovative developments you have made?
“I would describe my signature as diverse and detailed. I love the idea of cross-pollination, i.e. To seize inspiration from a variety of disciplines and then coalesce with design seamlessly and come up with novel solutions. I like simplicity and I am very passionate about details. I try and pour a lot of love in whatever I do till the time it’s gratifying.
During my BA thesis I did an award winning concept for Chevrolet, which brings a new dimension to the automotive industry. When we were restricted with space for horizontal expansion we decided to go for the vertical expansion in architecture. Now, that cars have started flooding the streets we designed an elevated seating in the car. What we managed to do was to create a package for six people within a footprint of three and half metres with no shoulder conflict by changing the internal layout.
A few years ago I had designed a gas stove for an Indian company which is quite unique as well. At the moment gas burners occupy a substantially large amount of footprint on the kitchen platforms. The new design allows the user to orient the burners as he or she wants, to fit the platform space and then store it away by folding it as small as a frying pan. Recently, I had the opportunity to work on a concept AUDI that gives you a taste of what the future holds for us.”
Which bonding tools or materials do you use (or would you consider to use), e.g. nuts, screws, rivets, bolts, spot welds, self-adhesive tape or glue?
“I have been using all of these during my Industrial design phase. Now, I use tape quite regularly.”
What makes self-adhesive tape work for you?
“As a car designer tape comes along with breakfast every day. We need tape drawings all the time along with tapes on a physical clay model. Tapes are important to define the surfaces in three dimension and it requires a surgeons skill to apply them correctly. As far as advancement with tapes is considered, I am looking forward to better sticking tapes on automotive clay.”
How do you envisage the future of design?
“I think the future of design is very personal and minimalist but sophisticated.”
What will be THE trends or innovations and what role could tape play in that picture?“I believe tapes are as important as clay or pencil and paper. It is an analog instrument to test your sensitivity and in the digital age it still provides a tangible feel. As far as improvisation is considered, it would be a delight to see a tape that can be used as a thick charcoal or a knife so that we can sketch on clay without hampering the surface or on a large sheet of paper. Sounds crazy but it might just help.”
Collage: Future Car for General Motors 2013 (diploma thesis); National Institute of Design, India (2nd price German VDA Design Award)