Name: Johannes Barckmann
Age: 44
Job: Director of styling, Edag, Fulda, Germany
Key cars: Edag Biwak, Scout, 2000, Cinema 7D, GenX, VW Beetle RSi
4Car - What's the most significant design element of your latest concept?
Barckmann - 'The idea with the Biwak is to transfer grunge fashion into a product that has a different (ie longer) lifetime. This is a critical point. We feel there are more trends outside of the car industry than inside.
'The paint finish has been developed with a paint specialist manufacturer: it's not production-ready for an exterior yet and we need to know whether it's repairable. But we don't think that any scratch or damage really matters on this car.
'If the public like this idea of leather bumpers then we can go on to develop a material that is common to this "forgiving skin" - it doesn't mean we'll use leather. The interesting thing about leather is that you can see scratches and the scratches can tell stories. Maybe we find an artificial material that is similar.
'The denim jeans seats are also grunge-inspired. I don't wear ripped jeans when I'm not wearing a suit, but my daughters do.'
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| The textured paint of the Biwak |
4Car - Design influences?
Barckmann - 'The VW Kubelwagen military vehicle from the 50s. Our ideas always come from the changing of society. So we try to identify influences that we can work on and find answers to why the customer should buy this car.'
4Car - What attracted you to car design as a career?
Barckmann - 'I started as an industrial designer at BMW motorcycles then I joined Edag 16 years ago.'
4Car - What's the next big car design trend?
Barckmann - 'Today a car should fit you. In Europe we have this turning of the population pyramid that will mean more and more elderly people, so we have to respect their requirements and wishes and take care of them - but not with this trim and colour. One way would be to make information in the interior much simpler and give a safer feeling.
'The internet is another issue, the one-child policy in China, politics etc. We try to project these issues into the future and ask what will happen in five, 10 and 15 years?'
4Car - How does what you do differ from conventional carmakers?
Barckmann - 'The car industry is very slow, it is not really trying a lot. Some carmakers couldn't really show something like the Biwak, even as a concept, if it wanted to keep some of its customers.
'Edag has to use branding too, but the first thing our show cars have to do is get in touch with our customer and clients - the carmakers. Every year we show new ideas and concepts that they maybe can use or we can discuss with them. This approach has been very successful for us over the years.
'Edag is an engineering partner for the whole automotive industry and we do styling, engineering up to "turn key" production. We make cars for carmakers and aftermarket and accessories for all sorts of cars including the Mercedes C-class, Hummer H2 and the Peugeot 206. The first serious production car that Edag has developed completely we be launched in 2007 - for Changan in China.'
4Car - What other car firm/design team do you think would be interesting to work for?
Barckmann - 'Of course I prefer German companies: they have a strong brand image. The ones doing best in branding right now are Audi and BMW - the Mini brand too.'
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| Aston Martin Vanquish |
4Car - What car did you wish you'd designed?
Barckmann - 'The Aston Martin Vanquish. It's a very new one however...'
4Car - What car are you glad you didn't design?
Barckmann - 'The Ford Scorpio.' [Said without a moment's hesitation]
4Car - What shoes are you wearing?
Barckmann - 'Brown brogues by Lloyd, £80'
4Car - What watch?
Barckmann - 'Jaeger leCoultre Master Control Chronograph, £5,000.'
