Every story begins with a name
The first triumph
Top 41 at International Level.
Defiance
— BRIEFING
Transportation Design
— 1ST CONTEST AT NATIONAL LEVEL
Sponsored by Nissan, Autopista & UPV
— INSPIRATION
Safery & Asymmetry
To design a car able to carry at least two passengers.
My big challenge. How to overcome it? I observed myself. I had the key to the main idea. This car is going to be inspired by my defects. It is an interesting idea, but lend me explain. That is an asymmetric car because anything in nature is symmetric.
I worked with a few options. Talking about safe, when you drive, the side which more works at the car is left, when the steering wheel is situated. I searched about the part more damaged in car accidents, and there is a considerable percentage that tells the driver side is the more exposed.
— EXTERIOR DESIGN
Front View
How this armour could work in a car? I just sketched an asymmetric car and evaluated if it was necessary a different design among the left and right side. On the one side, I worked with different headlights, but I didn´t approve of the way it looks, and they didn´t give better protection to the car, so it won´t work. But, on the other side, at the grills, I thought it was very important to reinforce them and create a new design, more tough and resistant than the other.
This new design obeys these principles in case of impact:
-It will work like a shield
-It can bend inwards
-The grill is composed of two parts:
+The exterior element belongs to the bumper design and never won´t
detach from it.
+The interior element, lighter, belongs to a different interior panel inside the
bumper, it can detach and remain inside the car without leaving small and
sharp pieces on the road.
You can see the development in the next graph.
— INTERIOR DESIGN
Symple & Clean
Honestly, at this design, I focused all my attention on the clocks and speedometer. I wanted something clean and simplifier. I changed the tachometer into a semicircle light. It will show you a scale of colours instead of the tachometer, so you know when to change the gear.
I found that should be very important to have a lear clock of the temperature of the car. And, also added the deposit level, both on the laterals of the speedometer. You will only need to take a glance at the speedometer to read everything fast and clear, and after, the road.
Acknowledgement
Interview made by Autopista after winning this Contest (2014): link
Along with all the previous 17 editions of our Contest of Design, there wasn´t a lot of women that had participated in it. We talk with one of the lasts, Guillermina Valdivia, the finalist in the 2014 edition.
From Autopista and Nissan we want to cheer up the young women designers to participate in our contest. The last year, Guillermina Valdivia surprise us with her Nissan Defy, a sports car with aerodynamic lines an asymmetric design full of original solutions, which she was a finalist. This woman licensed in Fine Arts of Granada talks to us about her passion for Car Design.
Do you like to design cars?
Yes. I always get every moment to drawing them, and I´ve been drawing for several years. I began tuning known cars, until I tried to create my designs, in the research of reflecting my personality in those new vehicles. I try to design new solutions from the current cars, looking for a new point of view, contemporary, and above all, personal. For me, it was a nice surprise that Nissan Defy was a finalist at a national level because there was a huge number of participants with amazing designs. It was a big motivation to know that my car was chosen by an exceptional jury.
Previously, there was also another Concept Car I created during the Final Project Degree of Fine Arts. It with five cars more compose a new brand designed to introduce itself in the current global market. At the academic level, I got the higher mark and the support of the teacher that helped me to improve my skills. It was the beginning to work with all my efforts in increasing my knowledge and get better techniques to improve myself in this field of design.
Why do you think there aren´t a lot of women in the Automotive Design field?
The World that drives the Automotive Industry is mostly male, but the percentage of women who work with them should not be neglected, Society has certainly established canons, and some barriers still exist, which sometimes are difficult to cross. We know that in the past women had more impediments when it came to studying and fulfil their dreams. Of course today it is changing, although the results are not visible in the short term.
I have always differentiated myself from my friends by this attraction that I felt for the Automotive World. It was a topic that they respected but didn´t usually share since we all have different interests. Many time, these interests are stereotyped, in a subjective way, but they are still personal choices where each one finds what they really like. It´s a social issue, and obviously, these stereotypes can be changed: today we see such a high number of men and women driving on our roads when a few years ago there were a minority of women who did. All the transformations that take place in society take time to modify past customs, and I think that we are currently in this change.
What is your dream as a designer and where?
I would like to work designing vehicles at a design centre or automotive company; the where is not a present option. I really like European design, its elegance and distinction above all, but American vehicles have always been and will be strong with their noble particular style. Asian models are exotic and attractive, so I would also like to be able to design a car with my style… What I do have clear is that, regardless of the brand I work with, I will focus my efforts to create wonderful cars and designs known worldwide, and can contribute to making the company a benchmark in terms of design.
There are many car brands and I think that the simple fact of being able to work with them, designing vehicles, is a big pride for the designer and satisfaction for the brand. Each model remains in the brand´s history, and being able to contribute to it must be a very satisfying and unforgettable experience. I´m aware of the difficulty of this dream, but I will continue to pursue it until I can reach it, to make it my livelihood.
Nissan Brand Center
In 2017 summer, I was invited by Nissan and Autopista to celebrate the anniversary of this contest at the Nissan Brand Center in Barcelona. We heard some of the previous winners and their experience working on the most important Design Centers in Europe. It was a great experience to know their experiences and learn from them.
We were finalising the audience when I look back and found my work on their panels, as an example of lots of wonderful works presented to this contest through the years. It made me really happy to find it there. Thank you for everything, Defy!
