London, it seems, is where it's at. With
its culturally diverse inhabitants and progressive outlook, this large
metropolis oozes creativity -- well Nissan certainly seems to think so.
Nissan Design Europe, in
the heart of vibrant London has had a major influence on Nissan's
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The visionary global design boss, Shiro Nakamura, would not hear of any
other city for the European design centre that was established a couple
of years ago. According to Tetsuya Shibayama, manager of the strategy
and communication group at the studio, he had said something along the
lines of: 'off course it has to be central London. When you open the central
London map it should be there because it is such an international and
vibrant city.'
Shibayama, who is also from Tokyo, shares this vision. "Paris may
be a wonderful city with great culture, but if you design something in
Paris it will be a French design. The same with Turin, but in London it
will be a pan-European design," he says. "This reflects not
just in car design, but architecture, fashion design, even food. A lot
of things are happening in central London and the car isn't just about
transportation, it reflects the culture."
Marisol Manso Cortina is exactly what a company like Nissan needs to help
flavour its creative juices. Originally from Barcelona, the fashion trained
designer's impressive CV boasts past experience at Seat as well as BMW
and Mini interior design. "I consider moving to Nissan an improvement,"
she notes. "Mini was great but it was time for the next challenge."
Cortina now manages the colour design group at the stylish design centre.
Seven people work in the colour studio mainly on advanced design but also
on current models that are being designed for the European market.
She believes that it helps to be in a good location, mainly because it
makes the work of the designer just that little bit easier. "All
you have to do is walk around to see what's happening. As designers we
have to be more forward thinking in order to spot advanced trends, which
we then translate into our work." She accepts that it is still okay
to be in a place where life isn’t so vibrant, but this just makes
the work of the designer that much tougher. Instead, London acts as a
natural think tank for her and her international team.
"It is important for us to have an international team because everyone
has different ideas as to where to look and how to find inspiration,"
says Cortina. The connection with the US and Japan, where Nissan has its
other design studios, allow her and her team the opportunity to view what
is happening in other continents in terms of trends and compare them to
here.
So what effect has this had on Nissan cars? The new Micra city car's unusual
interior colour and trim options, for instance, were influenced by London
life. There are a total of 11 different colour/fabric combinations available
on the car. Trends in urban fashion, architecture, furniture even food
had their imprint on the cabin. "It is a European car and needs influences
from here," explains Cortina.
The Micra has two sides to its personality; one is a more sporty emotional
direction, the other trendy, with an advanced and innovative direction.
Cortina believes that the Micra needs to maintain this half of its personality.
One example of this is the combination of ice blue and chocolate as used
in the interior, which is different to anything on the market. "It
connects the car with something that is a little more upstream on the
market. Although the Micra needs to feed into the brand, for colour combinations
you know with this car you can go a little bit forward," says the
designer. "You can be a little more upstream with it, meaning you
can be a little different with colour combinations. Upstream," she
notes, "is to be innovative but not necessarily avant-garde."
Shibayama sees Nissan as a challenger in the European market. "We
should be something distinctive," he notes. Speaking to Nakamura
a couple of years back, he spoke of the Japanese identity in Nissan. He
felt that this aspect had not been tapped into enough and was something
that would help create a distinct brand identity for Nissan.
The Japanese influence is not direct, it is embedded within Nissan. "The
Japanese DNA is really important but it shouldn't be like Yo Sushi, pretending
to be Japanese," says Shibayama mockingly, referring to the Sushi
food chain. He continues: "Japanese DNA is not just one layer; it
is very complex with a lot of different aspects." For instance, the
Nissan Primera has extremely well thought out in-car IT equipment. "We
see this thinking as very Japanese," he says. "The Micra too
has a pretty face which is sort of a Japanese character, but the interior,
especially the colour and material have to fit to local tastes and demand."
Cortina adds: "It is always a balance between global consistency
and local touches."
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