[Insight]Luc Donckerwolke_루크 동커볼케 Details
Intro
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Luc Donckerwolke's Values
From Audi Through Lamborghini to Bentley, How Are the World’s Best Luxury Cars Born?
What makes a vehicle grab everyone's attention, like artwork running on the road? The answer is design philosophies that go beyond technology. This class, presented by the world-class car designer Luc Donckerwolke, delves into every element of captivating automotive designs.
He will provide you with clear answers to what makes the design of luxury cars unique, how a car can embody a brand's identity and legacy, and what enables a design to be purchased by consumers. Discover the world of the great mind who designs an entire brand through his automotive design process.
Class Preview
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2. Why Identity Matters
- The trap of the Swiss Army Knife syndrome, which aims to please everyone
- Why cars with character, such as the Mini and the Porsche 911, achieved global success
- Why cars with character, such as the Mini and the Porsche 911, achieved global success
*The subtitles in this preview video are auto-translated. Please note that some content may not be accurately translated.
**Associated content is subject to change without prior notice.
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Highlights
Class Highlights
Brand Identity Design
Discover the secret to designing a brand's identity by visualizing its philosophy and DNA through a vehicle. Learn how to translate a brand’s unique values and story into a visual design language that leaves a strong and consistent impression on consumers.
Strategic Design Thinking
Learn how a design can increase the "purchasing power" of a brand, understanding "designs as strategies." Explore how to use design not just as an aesthetic tool, but as a core strategy for brand growth and market impact.
Balancing Traditions and Innovations
Explore the "balance of design" for creating adrenaline that thrills people while respecting great "legacies."Learn how to preserve a brand's legacy while seamlessly integrating modern sensibilities and innovative ideas through balanced design strategies.
Philosophy
Luc Donckerwolke's Philosophy
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Design Is Not Art But Problem-Solving."A designer is not an artist." To Luc Donckerwolke, the most important role of design is to identify a problem and find a solution based on technology. Design is not about styling or art; It's about improving customers' lives both aesthetically and functionally. -
Strong Identity Creates Universality.Donckerwolke challenges the Swiss Army Knife Syndrome, which aims to please everyone, and says that it is cars with character, like the Mini, that gain popularity around the world. Without a strong identity, a car can't possess a true sense of universality that disseminates new values across borders.
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Function and Design Are One.For Lamborghini, the car body was just an engine cover." He rejects the old perception that the engine comes first, emphasizing that functionality and design must share the same value and create harmony. Technology can't be blamed for ruining design. Rather, technology helps make outstanding designs -
Logo: The DNA of a Brand"Design visualizes corporate DNA, and DNA starts from a logo." Kia's redesign of its logo, for example, demonstrates the process of bringing out the creativity of a brand to transform the whole company, which goes beyond modernizing a perception. Questioning the logo means embracing a new design philosophy.
Instructor
Car Designer
Luc Donckerwolke
"My name is Luc Donckerwolke, and I'm the Chief Creative Officer of Hyundai Motor Group."
Growing up in Africa and South America, Donckerwolke read French comic books in practical cars while dreaming of becoming a sports car designer. After majoring in industrial engineering in Belgium, he studied industrial design in Switzerland. The diverse cultural experiences he gained from living in ten countries until the age of 18 still help him add depth to his design philosophy.
He started his career at Audi, then accomplished his dream of designing a Lamborghini by creating the Murcielago. Later, he also achieved success at Bentley. After 22 years of devotion, he left Volkswagen Group to join Hyundai Motor Group, where he took on a special challenge: to build the design identity of the Genesis brand from scratch.
Luc Donckerwolke
Car Designer
Projects & Awards
[Projects & Awards]
- Belgian car designer
- Peugeot designer (1990–1991)
- Audi and Skoda designer (1992–1997)
- Head of Lamborghini Design (1998–2005)
- SEAT Design Director (2006–2012)
- Head of Bentley Design (2012–2015)
- Head of Hyundai Motor Group Design Center (2016–2018)
- Responsible for Hyundai/Kia/Genesis design (2018–2020)
- Chief Creative Officer (2020–), Head of Global Design (2023–)
- Winner of the German "Red Dot Design Award" three times, "European Designer of the Year," among others
- Recipient of 15 prestigious international design awards
- AUTOBEST "Designer of the Year" (2019)
- World Car Awards "Personality of the Year" (2022)
- Newsweek USA "Designer of the Year" (2023), etc
Class Details
You'll Learn
#1. Designing Without Borders
I was told to hide my identity because I was a non-Italian Lamborghini designer and no one should find that out, meaning I had to be a ghost designer. I said it didn't matter as long as I could design a Lamborghini. The company eventually revealed the fact, and I could be credited for my designs. The same thing happened at Bentley, which taught me that designs are borderless.
#2. Seeing the Audi A2 as a Failure Ahead of Its Time
The Audi A2, which I designed in 1997, went way ahead of its time. People back then didn't care about sustainability or eco-friendliness. It offered perfect design efficiency but provided a solution that no one had asked for, which is why it couldn't succeed. We were living the future, but people were not. However, we learn more from failure than from success.
#3. Hyundai's DNA, Starting from the Pony
When we were given the mission to recreate Hyundai, we chose to do it by paying homage to the Pony, the root of the company. The Ioniq 5 is a revisit to the DNA of the Pony. It is future-oriented, not retro, but has legitimacy because it resembles the first-ever Hyundai car. It is also for this reason that I invited my mentor and hero Giorgetto Giugiaro, who designed the Pony 50 years ago, to restore the Pony Coupe.
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Question.01
What is your definition of good design?
Design is not art but problem-solving. And what makes a design beautiful is its function. If a consumer falls in love with a product at first sight and grows to like it even more because of its function, that means it is a great product with a great design.
Question.02
What do you consider the most important when designing a supercar like Lamborghini?
It's emotion. Looking at the car alone should give you an adrenaline rush. With regular cars, logic can make up for a lack of emotion. Emotion in a sports car, on the other hand, can't be replaced by anything, and no one would buy a sports car if it's not emotional.
Question.03
Is there any special reason you joined Hyundai Motor Group?
The company contacted me when I had been working for the same company for 22 years, feeling that my career was stagnating. The fact that Hyundai Motor Group launched the world's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle amazed me, and gave me the feeling that I'd be able to unleash my creativity in full there. More importantly, they proposed that I create the Genesis brand from absolutely nothing, which sounded like a dream to me.
