Ford Insiders go from concept to creation at Ford Design in Australia

The modern world of automotive design is a mixture of pens and paper, computers, mixed reality and shaped-by-hand clay models.

Recently, 10 Ford Insiders got to walk around in this world and learn what it takes to go from concept to creation, meeting the teams that designed Ranger, Ranger Raptor and Everest.

Ford Insiders - a group of employee advocates who  help elevate Ford news to their networks and beyond -  learned, “the birth of a vehicle begins with a great design brief and with Ranger Raptor, for example, that theme was desert running off-road performance,” said Max Tran, chief designer, Ford Australia. Armed with that information designers sit with a sketch pad or Wacom tablet sketching concepts until one is approved.

Once the team has an approved concept it moves into virtual modelling where a 3D design is rendered. Once the design is in the virtual world, the team can poke and pull at it and make rapid changes before physical modelling takes place. Then through mixed reality, the team can collaborate on virtual models in real time with colleagues around the world.

“Mixed reality is a game changer, it affords the Design team the opportunity to interact with a model in a real-world environment gaining an accurate sense of size and proportion ahead of generating a physical property.,” said Ian Latchford, DTO chief engineer, Ford Australia.

“Mixed reality is really clever technology and really cool to experience first-hand,” said Gabriel Dalfre, connected vehicle software engineer and Ford Insider, Ford Australia.

Being a physical product, clay modelling is vital in the design process. Armed with putty knives and the shaping tools of a sculptor, the clay modelling team takes 4000kg of clay and moulds it into a life-sized vehicle. But they don’t just shape the vehicle, indeed just about everything from the seats to the dashboard are made from clay and finished to look like the real thing for the design director and chiefs to approve.

"Seeing how our vehicles come to life from a drawing is an art form that clearly requires an extremely high level of skill," said Nathan Smith, senior connected vehicle services engineer and Ford Insider, Ford Australia. 

**Disclaimer: If you have any questions about our employee-only Insiders program IMG, please contact kleo@ford.com. If you are interested in participating in our advocacy efforts in the US, contact: empengmt@ford.com**