TST Interviews Haishan Deng, Head of Transportation Design Program at CIA

Our man in Cleveland, Ben Aghajanian, recently visited one of the top automotive design programs in the country at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) and met with Haishan Deng for an overview of the program. Haishan joined CIA in fall 2014 to lead the transportation design program. He was previously at the School of Industrial Design at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in China, where he established their transportation design program. Haishan has received 12 design awards, including one from the German Association of the Automotive Industry and a Michelin Challenge Design Award. He has designed products for a variety of companies, including Honeywell, Philips, and DeLonghi, as well as superstructure designs for Mercedes-Benz and Volvo dump trucks.

Ben Aghajanian: Tell me about CIA’s transportation design program and curriculum.

Haishan Deng: The transportation design program covers so much more than just car drawings. The curriculum is created to teach students the different skills needed to design a car.

When they enter the program, students learn about basic performance and ergonomic factors that make different types of cars and how they influence design. They will learn how to build a car’s body, in terms of surface construction. There is an emphasis on drawing, which takes hundreds of hours of practice to understand perspective and proportion.

In their junior year, students start to participate in sponsored projects from which they learn about defining users, finding problems and solutions, and developing design language. They need to practice a lot to become excellent in sketching. Sometimes drawing a car is like solving a math problem. They will learn how light creates reflections on different surfaces, and how to show different materials. All of these topics are important because the students need to communicate their design ideas efficiently and correctly to others.

For senior year, students apply all of the knowledge and skills they have learned on multiple sponsored projects. Quality and creativity become the main criteria to evaluate their work. They are not only required to design a concept with good proportion and good drawing skills, but also show innovations that embody new technology, lifestyle and materials, and most importantly, connect them with the design language of the brand itself.

BA: How long has CIA offered a program in transportation design?

HD: CIA alumni have designed American and foreign cars since as far back as 1915, when I.H. Frary designed the hardware and interior trim for Stearns Motor Company vehicles. Notably, CIA grad Joe Oros (Class of 1939) was credited with leading the design team for the iconic 1964 Ford Mustang.

BA: How many students are enrolled in the transportation design program, and where do your students come from?

HD: Currently there are 21 students in transportation design. Some come from Ohio, some from other states. Recently, there are increasing numbers of international students in our transportation design program.

BA: What distinguishes CIA’s transportation design program from the competition?

HD: CIA’s transportation design program is a track within our Industrial Design Department. The problem-solving approach of industrial design helps our students to build creative thinking skills. They learn to look at car design in terms of solutions and execution.

BA: Does CIA offer scholarships?

HD: Students at CIA have opportunities to receive scholarships from both the school and many other resources. Just recently, we had students receive scholarships from Chrysler and Ford.

BA: How many people graduate from the program each year?

HD: Approximately 5 to 6.

BA: Tell me about internship opportunities and other career resources for students?

HD: Our students intern at auto manufacturers such as GM, Chrysler, Ford and Toyota. In many cases, these internships evolve into full time employment.

BA: What are typical job placement companies, and employment rates?

HD: GM, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai. This year 100% of senior students got jobs in the auto industry.

BA: Who are some notable alumni?

HD:

Joseph Dehner, who heads Dodge and Ram design.

Holt Ware, director of Buick exterior design.

Scott Krugger, who designed the 2014 Viper.

Nicholas Vardis, who designed the 2015 Challenger Hellcat.

Kirk Bennion, exterior design manager of the 2014 Corvette Stingray, and Jose Gonzales, lead designer of the 2015 Corvette Z06. Kirk has been the man behind several generations of theCorvette.

Phillip Zak, executive director of design, GM Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center in Shanghai.

BA: What attracted you to CIA from China?

HD: The creative atmosphere of transportation design.

BA: What are some differences and similarities in design for the Chinese market vs. the American market?

HD: In the Chinese market, consumers care more about space and interior qualities. As for the exterior, family members’ opinions are very important. They prefer cars with graceful lines. American and Chinese customers both appreciate designs that integrate with new technologies such as internet capabilities and smart technology.

BA: What trends do you see when it comes to the future of vehicle design?

HD: Big question J. We are in a great time when technology is enabling new

developments in car design every day. Ideas that we thought were new one year ago

may become the norm now. Internet-based industry is having a great influence on products surrounding us, including cars. But cars will not necessarily become cell phones on

wheels. Actually, the opportunities for car design to benefit from

technological advances go beyond just putting a big screen inside. Personalizing

may be one of the areas that will catch attention from car designers. Changing

interior color themes every day? Variable exterior lamps? There are so many

possibilities.

Among new technologies, autonomy (driverless cars) will be a big trigger for developing new

trends, especially for interiors. Since people will be released

from driving, they’ll need to figure out how to spend time in their cars. Working?

Resting? Chatting? There are many new topics for designers to think about. As for aesthetics, cars probably will not be changed into straight geometric shapes, as is happening with other products. Creating more sculptural form languages will still be a way for designers to express the dynamic inner character of a vehicle, which other products do not have. Form languages that are now seen in other products are going to bring new aesthetics to cars. New materials will play an important role in that.

The Smoking Tire
The Smoking Tire’s YouTube Channel