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Part of the automotive supplier's job is to
transfer the automaker's brand values into distinctive design features.
It was in response to this challenge that the Faurecia Group created a
cross-disciplinary Industrial Design Department in 2003. The Department
works closely with its customers in the vehicle design phase, in France,
Germany and the United States. Its members work in small teams, each of
which is assigned to a specific brand, to ensure that the automaker's
brand values are integrated early on in Faurecia's R&D process.
A key part of the mission involves anticipating
what tomorrow's consumer will want. Vehicles today have a development
cycle of up to three to four years, so it is essential to predict future
lifestyles, perceptions and trends in terms of colors, textures and ergonomics.
Ergonomics
TALC: harmonizing the vehicle interior
To ensure this prediction is accurate, Faurecia
gathers a huge body of information about lifestyles, fashions and behavioral
trends, and pools it in a database; it then applies the "TALC" (Touch, Appearance,
Light, Color) concept which combines all sensorial aspects. TALC is used
to select materials, determine the surface treatments and achieve overall
harmony in the vehicle interior. Example
of TALC applications include the use of translucent
or metallic materials for instrument panels and center consoles, the integration
of lighting in the cockpit and door modules to create atmospheric effects,
or the use of 3D fabrics on seat covers and prints and relief on floor
carpets.
New ideas from other sectors
Trends identified by the Industrial Design
Department trigger new research into materials and processes. These trends
may come from the industry - for instance new user interface technologies,
new architecture proposals for cockpits or seats, or new storage solutions
- and they may challenge the traditional product boundaries between seats,
doors, center consoles and cockpits. The goal is always to create added
value for the consumer by offering more comfort,
modularity, flexibility or utility. Trends
may also come from beyond the automotive industry for new ideas. Sectors
such as consumer electronics are evolving very quickly, for example in
their use of light, a key contributor to perceived
quality.
Faurecia's Industrial Design experts are pursuing
their research into colors, shapes, textiles and finishes in order to
identify the expectations of tomorrow's consumers, and to provide innovative
solutions for the vehicles they will drive.
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