Royal College of Art (RCA) students Ewan Gallimore and Claire Miller have created an art installation inspired by Jaguar design for the Clerkenwell Design Week in London, UK. The installation was created in association with Jaguar’s Advanced Design team in Coventry, using many of the technologies and facilities employed in the creation of Jaguar concept cars and production designs.
Jaguar, which is the primary sponsor of Clerkenwell Design Week, approached both the MA Vehicle Design and MA Textile Design Departments of the RCA with a brief to create a joint exterior and interior form study which expresses their vision of future Jaguar design language in either a sports or luxury context.
Teams comprised of students from both vehicle design and textile design backgrounds were asked to consider the proportions, surfacing, line interactions and aesthetic beauty when expressing their vision of Jaguar’s future design language. In the end, nine different teams each presented their proposals and after much deliberation on the part of the Jaguar Advanced Design team, Ewan Gallimore and Claire Miller’s submission eventually emerged as the favorite.
“Jaguar has a long history of ground-breaking design so we knew we needed to create something truly special to catch the eye of Jaguar Advanced Design Director, Julian Thomson,” said Gallimore and Miller. “We began the project by looking at light, specifically the way the light falls within the space at Clerkenwell. We thought about how our form could accentuate this light and convey volume through its use of materials and our knowledge of how these materials react with one another.”
“Our form relates to the Jaguar brand through its sculptural volumes, bespoke materials and visual lightness. These elements helped us to create a sculpture that aimed to display a seamless transition between interior and exterior space.”
In addition to pushing their creative boundaries, the students were also able to experience the tight schedules and strict deadlines that are part of working in a global design studio. The students had just two weeks to conceive and present their design proposals and within three days of announcing the winning submission, Gallimore and Miller were in the Jaguar Advanced Design studio meeting the design team, and discussing how best to proceed with the development of their installation before handing over to digital modeling in preparation for manufacture.
“Jaguar enjoys a successful relationship with the Royal College of Art and several Jaguar designers, including myself and Ian Callum, are RCA Alumni,” says Julian Thomson. “This has been a fantastic opportunity to once again work with the best car design students in the world and challenge both ourselves and the students with a view on how expressive Jaguar design can become in the future.”
