Last Monday, I enjoyed an extraordinary lecture from Erik. The lecture is about designers and design thinking. As an outstanding designer, Erik let me understand the difference between three kinds of marketing models: market driven, engineering led and design think. Engineering led could help companies to exist, market driven could help companies to survive, only design thinking could make companies become competitive, become outstanding and become legendary.
Is design thinking only focus on innovation and originality? I don’t think so. Yes, creativity is very important in design thinking. We should also put tradition in this kind of thinking. We should respect for tradition, while putting new element into tradition. I think BMW really did a good job in this kind of design. BMW is my favorite car brand. I think professor Nunzio like BMW too because I can find a lot of BMW 3-series wagon photos at his Instagram.
What is BMW’s tradition? I think the biggest feature comes from its famous exterior design. BMW’s signature elements are timeless and distinct, which include classic details such as the trademark twin kidney grilles and four round headlights. These two branded features were existed since 1933. The traditional kidney grille, which often seen rising up in other cars’ rear-view mirrors, can always make BMW owners confident. These are BMW’s tradition. The company will never give up their traditional elements while doing design thinking.
We cannot lie down on tradition forever. BMW uses design thinking in its new innovation. As one of the leaders in automobile industry, BMW seek for every innovation made in this industry. For instance, BMW concentrated on new engine types such as BMW Active Hybrid and the eDrive concept. Do you know the all new i8 series? Really cool. You do not need to add a single drop of gas while drive from New York to Los Angeles. BMW eDrive boasts impressive dynamics and, when driven in purely electrical mode, is emission-free locally. Do you know the iDrive System? The iDrive system from BMW gives the driver complete control over many of the vehicle’s functions while allowing him to concentrate on the road. It’s easy to use and can be operated with one hand without needing to see what drivers were doing. It is really a cool design.
This is my understanding of design thinking, which helps customers to catch reality from products and brand.
by Meng Yuan
Wen 