Toyota is strongly associated with Japanese cars. However, delving into the design side revealed a lesser-known facet.
Hardly feels like work at all
ED² brings together highly unique personalities and characters in an open space.
Italian-born Alessandro Belosio remembers filling every page of his high school textbooks with sketches of cars.
Alessandro Belosio
Designing in a positive, fun environment hardly feels like work at all. And yet we get paid for it (laughs). This really is a dream job.
We also learned that the team has adopted the idea of “collaborative competition” to bring out the creativity of every member.
Laurent Bouzige
We adopted a “collaborative competition” approach, which brings together two opposing concepts, cooperation and competition.
Every project is shared so that we all see them as “my project,” rather than someone else’s. The result is a structure in which specialized knowledge is offered from many different perspectives. This way of working encourages designers to elevate each other to achieve the best possible outcome.
An environment like this fosters creativity and enables us to tackle complex challenges in innovative ways.
CMF (Color, Materials, Finish) designer Julie Schwieder added to these comments.
Julie Schwieder
The diversity shines through in our daily work.
We each bring unique perspectives and ideas to the table, sparking creativity and innovation in our designs.
We truly are a global team working together toward a shared goal.
“It’s a unique ability to understand images better than words, which actually becomes an asset as a designer, in art, design, and other creative fields,” she told us with a smile.
Embracing diversity gives rise to more flexible ideas. Even without crossing oceans, we could feel the design studio atmosphere.
A dream job of dreaming
We asked the ever-upbeat ED² members what the job of a Toyota designer was like for them.
“Car design is truly a dream job! With our own hands, we get to create things that other people will use in the future,” Alessandro told us with beaming eyes.
Since Alessandro is an interior designer, we asked whether he prefers working on exteriors or interiors. “Interiors are definitely more fun! Though I know that will rile our exterior designers,” he remarked with a laugh, before explaining what he finds interesting about interior design, and the three key points for making a fun car.
Alessandro Belosio
Simply put, they’re completely different. Exterior design is more sculptural and must be visually striking.
In interior design, meanwhile, the crucial thing is to make people comfortable.
To achieve that, you need (1) all the essential components to be intuitively arranged, (2) pleasant interaction with the operating system, and (3) the joy of driving and spending time with other people.
These are the three basic elements of an enjoyable onboard experience.
Many people say that a good car is one that makes you turn around for another look after getting out. But we only view the outside for brief moments, while most of our time is spent inside. That’s the area that I find interesting.
CMF designer Julie had a different response.
Julie Schwieder
Walking along the street and finding something that you created is unbelievably satisfying.
Design is a profession that allows you to dream, and to turn your childhood visions into reality.
Being able to dream for a living is a wonderful thing.
I love this job.
She notes that design also incorporates aspects like scent and sound.
Julie Schwieder
Because we design for all the senses, including not only colors but also scents and sounds, I would like to redefine my role as “CMFX designer,” combining CMF and experience design.
Toyota is made up of many different people, both in Japan and overseas, each drawing on their respective cultures and values while focusing on the same goal: ever-better carmaking.
