Interview by Furkan Bilal İYİN

Note: This is the first of a series of interviews to automotive and industrial designers made by Furkan Bilal İYİN (TurkDesignStudio), and authorized by the author for republication on Car Body Design. More will come soon...

About Mike Turner

Mike Turner is 33 years old and lives in Derby (UK). He currently works at JCB Excavators as a Senior Industrial Designer. His personal portfolio can be found at www.coroflot.com/miketurner.

The Interview

When did you start designing?

It’s incredibly difficult to answer that one without sounding like a living cliché – but like many designers I was imagining and sketching blueprints and concept for aircraft, trucks and cars since I could first draw.

These evolved into Lego spaceships, super-cars and bikes as of about 6-7 years - then on into custom skateboards, R/C car modifications etc etc... so I guess my imagination has always been working along this kind of path – but I was formally introduced to the idea of Industrial Design as a career when I was about 13 – by JCB’s in-house design team.

They were incredibly helpful and supportive from the outset, and have been on hand to advise and guide me at key stages in my subsequent development – so I owe them a massive debt of thanks.

From their initial confirmation that I could actually get PAID for imagining and drawing cool stuff, my training path has been fairly straightforward: Art & Design at GCSE level - Art at ‘A’ Level – a BTEC Foundation course in Art and Design, followed by a Degree qualification in Transportation Design at Coventry University.

How did you develop your style?

Hmmmm... tricky. I’m not sure I have a specific “style” as such – although it’s fair to say that in my current role at JCB everything has to be functional, incredibly durable and fit for purpose.

As such, I guess the vehicle forms I’m generating are always going to have a distinctive look and feel.

JCB’s philosophy and design approach is definitely in tune with my own, as I personally feel there always has to be substance and reasoning behind the form – so I’ve always preferred to be called a “Designer” rather than be labelled as a “Stylist”.

In terms of design workflow, for me Alias (CAD) is now very much a seamless part of the process. I always start doodling and sketching out new ideas in good old fashioned black biro – but as soon as things start to “click” I prefer to get into Alias as soon as possible (this is perhaps why I don’t bother so much with tight, crisp hand-drawn illustrations any more).

From practical experience, I’ve learned that it’s always best ot start working around the actual physical CAD constraints of the design as early on in the process as possible. In doing so, it maximises the time available to establish and refine the best solution possible.

I know some designers reckon that CAD is far too inflexible and that it “stifles the creative process”, but I’ve personally found it has unlocked my potential, and has given me the tools to achive more in the world of design for manufacture than I originally imagined possible.

What inspires you?

I draw influences from all around me, and always seem to find direction and stumulus in the most unlikely of places. Design for me is all about pulling threads of related ideas together, then communicating them in a fresh but logical manner. As such, there are always new forms, technologies, social trends and manufacturing processes emerging which influence and guide me.

Pure “inspiration” is harder to define – athough I’m certain true love, music, nature, a great novel, good food and drink all play vital parts!

Who came to you first for one of your designs?

Great Question! My first industry sponsor was a really great guy called Mike Wright, who used to be the Technical Director at Hayter.

Mike approached me on the strength of some group work I did at University - and tasked me with introducing composite bodywork to his professional ride-on mower range.

The project worked really well for them, and introduced me to some really talented designers and engineers, many of whom I’m still close friends with.

I will always be hugely greatful to Mike and his team for having enough belief in my abilities to throw me in at the deep end and trust that I’d deliver - Thanks, guys.

Any big designs coming up?

Absolutely! I’d love to tell you about them, but I owe it to my employers to keep my mouth shut until each new project is launched.

Rest assured that we’ve been really busy, have produced some really nice work and had a lot of fun along the way... I hope you like the finished results when you see them!

Special question: Must designers know both 3D and sketch drawing? What do you think about it?

For me, Industrial Design has always been about improving the quality of the manufactured product – which is always 3D.

As such, I’m always going to say that the Industrial Designer is responsible and accountable right through to production. For me, working in 3D CAD has proven to be the only way to sucessfully communicate my intent without ambiguity.

Sketching has always been a vital part of my design development process, but for me it’s not reliable enough to ensure the exact result I’m after is clearly understood by everyone in the development process. However, every designer is different, and finds a different way to achieve the desired effect...

So as long as each Designer is happy with their end product in their particular area of experitse then there are clearly no specific “rights” or “wrongs”.

What type of rendering do you like most? and why?

Renderings for me fall into two categories – Drawn and CAD rendered.

The kind of drawings which appeal to me most are those which you just KNOW are going to translate well into 3D. They can be fairly lose in terms of their approach, or else very tight and detailed – to me it doesn’t matter – so long as they’re easy to read.

The drawings which appeal least are those which look great at face value (very artistic, very dynamic, very dramatic) but don’t have any substance – they don’t really convey any clear forms or ideas.

CAD renderings are a whole different ball-game. The form should already be proven (surely it has to work in 3D in order to make the CAD model in the first place?). Rendered output can be anything from something moodily lit with lots of post-editing; something almost photographic, or else very clear and illustrative.

In terms of what I generate myself - it really depends on where I’m at in the project time-line, who the target audience is, and what the purpose of the image is. I get just as much of a buzz from generating biro sketches as I do Photoshop visuals and CAD renderings – so long as it’s a great image and sells the design well, the method of production is almost irrelevant.

And, your JCB Project! What do you want to say about JCB Dieselmax? I think this is very special and perfect work!

What words can I find to adequately describe such an unusual, extremely exciting and enjoyable project? - very few, in truth.

Much more eloquent and knowledgable people have already documented the project and the individial achievements of ALL it’s key contributors in depth – it’s probably best you refer to the JCB Dieselmax website or better still, read the book: “The World’s Fastest Diesel” by David Tremayne for the fully detailed story.

All I will say is that I am immensely proud to have been asked by JCB to participate in creating something so special – and how indebted I am for the specialist guidance and support of Ron Ayers, John Piper and Paul Brown in particular.

Who are your favourite Industrial Designers?

To be honest, it’s not something I’ve ever really stopped to think about. I tend to judge individual products on their particular merits, rather than a general view based who’s designed them.

I’m also well aware that any professional Industrial Designer is only ever as good as the team around them.

“Good” Industrial Design does not compensate for “bad” engineering and “poor” marketing specification - and vice versa.

What do you think about amateur designers? Who are your favorites?

There is always someone new on the way up, so I’m always respectful of new talent. From looking around, it’s plain to see that the wheels of academia are churning out design graduates in the UK at a far greater rate than ever before.

Wether they’re good enough to be drawing a salary in 10 years time remains to be seen... Being brutally honest, I feel as though I’m currently on a threshold. The younger me says “give them all a chance”, whilst the older me says “there are too many being promised to much: just to make profits for the academic institutions in the UK.”

Until our education system retuns to a genuine meritoracy, my in-box will remain full of also-rans who should know better...

My heart is still on the side of the amateur, whilst my head is now increasingly well aware of the practical pressures – so I endorse the professional.

Thank you very much Mike.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to participate. If anyone has any specific questions or queries which I’ve not fully answered here, they are more than welcome to contact me via www.coroflot.com/miketurner - Thank-you.

(All images are Copyright JCB Excavators Ltd. - Interview Copyright: TurkDesignStudio)

About the interviewer

Furkan Bilal Iyin is a Literature and Language student and an amateur designer.

He is administrator and main editor of turkdesignstudio.com.