I shape the future of design for Jaguar. I work on cars the company will be making in 10-20 years - it's a bit like working in a time machine!
I love the freedom we have to be creative and see the vision of the brand, without being too tied down by production elements. We create a new vision and a new design language. We get to discover - that’s the biggest part of our role.
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Have you always been interested in car design?
I was never interested in car design before university. I always loved drawing and designing things, but not specifically for cars. At university, many of my classmates were really passionate about cars and I became curious to understand why. I found my own perception of beauty through my passions outside the car industry, and brought those back into my car designs.
Cars aren’t just about the delight in driving them, they are also artistic objects; something to be looked at and desired. For me, the real thrill is in the design.
"For me, the real thrill is in the design."
What do you like about your job?
Everything is still so fresh for me. Sometimes if you know too much, you lose that curiosity. But when I meet engineers and people from other parts of the business, I learn a lot from them and I find new, interesting ideas. Personally my interests lie in the vision and the artistry of designing things, but other people’s perspectives help me to create something new and different.
Do you bring inspiration from influences outside the car industry?
I don’t literally bring inspiration directly from A to B, but I take inspiration from the way things make me feel. Using those feelings in my designs helps me to naturally express myself through design. That’s why it’s so important to try new things. Every new experience brings something new to my designs.
"Every new experience brings something new to my designs."
Do you find that being the only female exterior designer makes a difference?
Design is all about team work. We inspire each other because we each have our own character and a different way of looking at things. It makes a difference, being a female exterior designer – my perception of beauty is often different.
That being said, one thing I truly believe is that gender is not the total reflection of my design. I don’t want my designs to be categorised as a ‘female designer’s work’. My ultimate aim is for my ideas and designs to make people feel something in a new and unique way.
What challenges do you face in your job?
I want to bring my own unique character to design and blend this with the Jaguar brand to create a new and unique vision. Naturally you always want to force your own idea to the front. But you have to have empathy and try to appreciate other people’s designs. Sometimes in our team we have conflicting ideas of beauty so we have to work together to understand each other’s designs.
"We are designing people's lives and that's really exciting"
What are you most proud of in your career?
Car design is not only about creating a beautiful car. The consumer spends their life in the car so I feel like we are designing people’s lives and that is really exciting. Being a part of this is what I am most proud of.
Who inspires you? Why?
I am truly inspired by my colleagues, not only the designers but the modellers and the engineers; everyone I work with.
Sometimes I come in really early in the morning and I think I’ll be the first person in the office. But some of the clay modellers start as early as 6:00am. When I see them working, I realise that they dedicate their working lives to design – they are so amazing! It really inspires me, to think that all of these people are working on my design. This gives me a real sense of responsibility for my designs. I want to make others feel a real thrill for my designs and genuinely want to work on them.
"Discover what you love and focus on that."
What advice would you give to someone who is considering a career in automotive design?
Be brave and be true to yourself. Sometimes it can be easy to focus on other people’s opinions, but listening to everyone else’s opinions and ignoring your own can mean that you lose who you are. Discover what you love and focus on that.
When I first started in automotive design, I was not a car enthusiast, but I found my passion because I was surrounded by other really passionate people. There have been times when I have worried that I might get stuck in the automotive industry forever, without the chance to experience other areas of the creative world. But I sought out the chance to collaborate with a fashion show. My managers allowed and even encouraged me to do this as working within other areas of design can be a big inspiration to us.
This helped me realise that design cannot be put into just one box. It is a field which influences our entire world, everything from an art installation or a beautiful dress, to a car that drives on the road.