The project was initiated by Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG, for its future plans for the Indian market. My brief was to collect information on Indian culture and to find suitable elements of Indian cultural influences for the detailing of a luxury car interior space, especially for its colour and trim areas.
The project was completely done in Munich in the Research and Innovation Centre of the BMW group. I spent three weeks in between in India for some market research and a week in Milan during the Milano design fair to understand contemporary global design and also to get to know more about the trends. The project was mainly divided into three phases. 70% of the time was dedicated to research and information collection, 20% on the analysis and conceptual stages and the remaining 10% on implementation.
While creating concepts, I had to think not just about India but also with a global outlook. A car, after all, is made not only for a particular market, but also for being sold in the whole world. So, my aim was just to develop an Indian idea in its very global application, thereby creating a crafted environment that speaks of a journey in time and space.
The end deliverable was a collection of information on different cultural aspects of India, material and colour explorations, and concepts for the luxury car interior space. The concepts included the window sunshade concept, a concept for seating and better usage of space and another for a dynamic sunroof which controls the light and mood in the car.
By working out these three concepts, I was able to think ahead of my capabilities and it also helped me learn a lot about the technology and engineering which works in the luxury car interior space.
