The design strategy: from "New Edge Design" to "Kinetic Design"

Iosis, whose name is an alchemic term referring to the final stage of the transformation of base metal into gold, embodies all the elements of the future design of European Fords.

Not all of the references will be taken up by every product, but there are a number of core genes that will feature strongly in coming years.

It could represent a phenomenon similar to that of the Ka model, which introduced the "New Edge Design", used on the whole rande of Ford's european models.

“What we're doing is visualising the dynamic qualities of the Ford brand. We are defining this as Ford kinetic design and when you look at iosis you can see that it visualises energy in motion", says Martin Smith, Ford of Europe's Executive Design Director.

The design process

The Iosis concept was developed with a mix of digital technologies and traditional manufacturing and craftmanship: from the hand-made renderings, the base of the physical model wad defined with cardboard templates cut with scissors...

iosis started life as a series of free hand renderings by Ford of Europe exterior designer Andrea di Buduo, following briefings from Martin Smith. Working together with Domenico Tonello and Stefan Lamm, the team quickly refined the design to express Ford of Europe's new design DNA.

Simultaneously, a design team under Nikolaus Vidakovic comprised of Ernst Reim and Tony Peat were developing a similar theme for the interior. Meanwhile the Colour and Trim team led by Ruth Pauli, and including Silke Welskopp and Laura Blossfeld, produced a colour and materials concept.

Once the themes had been set, the design was honed using computer aided imaging to then present a proposal to senior Ford of Europe management.

The final computer imaging of iosis was the tool used to move into the next stage of 3D model development. Once the Photoshop image has been finessed and a finished design agreed, it was subjected to software called Alias that roughly maps the surface so that a basic clay model can be machined.

Over the following six weeks, modellers carefully and painstakingly carved the clay into the final shape.

"This process," says Smith "is probably the most important during the gestation of a car's design."

Highly skilled Ford modellers are able to create this complex form. Computer-driven modelling is important but machines don't have the human touch, the experience and skill to appreciate the subtle nuances in design.
The optimum and most efficient work stream is a combination of computer modelling and human skills.

After the clay is finished it is digitised using an automated process that measures the car's entire surface with pinpoint accuracy. That scanned data is then transmitted to the coachbuilder, in this case Modarte in Turin, who uses it to mill the master model. The process isn't finished and a further two or three weeks is devoted to honing each section by hand to perfection. After that moulds are produced from the master model and the body panels for the final bodyshell are created.

Details like the front and rear lamp assemblies, grille, exhausts and wheels – which are animated so the designers can see what they look like in 3D – are produced in Alias before mock ups are made to ensure they all neatly fit together. The technology of using 3D images full size on a video 'Powerwall' is often used to check the final design.

Exterior Design

This startling new design theme penned by a team led by Chief Designer Exteriors, Stefan Lamm and including Domenico ‘Nico' Tonello (Design Manager, Exterior Design) and Andrea di Buduo (Designer), showcases elements that will influence a new generation of Ford products.

The challenge that faced Lamm and his team was to develop a new form language based on sound Ford core values, reinterpreting these elements in a bold, fresh and contemporary manner.

"Our task was to create compelling design that harnesses this energy in motion and visualises it.” Explains Martin Smith.

Lamm takes up the theme: “At Ford we need to demonstrate the design spirit of the vehicle with an expressive, new language."

“The forms will be more distinctive and emotional, more athletic, more muscular.”

Smith and his team had to quickly identify the graphic elements that are recognised key signatures of Ford design. Some of those were first seen in the SAV Concept and have been further developed by the team for iosis.

Foremost amongst those key DNA elements is the ‘inverse trapezoid' air intake below the chromed grille.

“Together the upper and lower grille graphic represent the new face of Ford,” says Tonello.

Further distinctive design elements are the well defined wheelarch lip originally seen on Focus in 1998, and the strong shoulder, which is supported by a dynamic undercut line running the length of the vehicle.

The inverted trapezoid motif is echoed throughout the exterior and interior of iosis: it is also featured in the 20-inch wheels, milled from solid aluminium billets, with their contrasting polished and anodised finish that accentuates their 3-D design.

Another recurring design theme is the kick-up in the DLO at the ‘C' post, which is echoed in the headlamp design. It is also reminiscent of the kick-up in the hood itself that raises the upper surface to give sufficient clearance from engine hard points below. This ridge then continues along the ‘A' post and cant rail before terminating in the cat's eye style rear light clusters.

The front lamps have an inner circular turning LED for low beam with a vertical day time running light, separating it from the turn signal on the outer edge and beneath all of that ten main beam LEDs, emerging when lit from tubes like a series of lasers.

The theme is echoed in the rear light cluster with its new design of tail lights employing a circle with a flattened top, flanked to the outside by the indicators and inboard by the stop lights.

In addition to the obligatory high mounted stop lamp, there's an additional series of LEDs running above the venturi that automatically increase in intensity according to weather visibility or the driver's braking effort.

Mounted in the rear valance is a camera to complement those on each door that replace conventional mirrors. By using three cameras the driver is assured of a complete rearward view to augment the interior mirror. The exterior cameras are pieces of machined aluminium.

A particularly dramatic aspect of iosis is its angled pivoting door arrangement that gives complete, uninterrupted access to the interior.

Constructed from carbon fibre, the doors are powered by ram motors that swing them upwards and outwards from the ‘A' and ‘C' posts via a system of sophisticated hinges that ensure additional support isn't required when the doors are open. For structural integrity and safety the rear door pegs into the cant rail and sill to provide the ‘B' post and can only be operated once the front door is open.

Interior Design

High tech and practicality

Under the overall direction of Nikolaus Vidakovic, Chief Designer Interiors and Ruth Pauli, Chief Designer Colour and Trim, a dramatic and futuristic interior has been created for iosis that is totally in keeping with the car's exterior.

“The interior follows the same direction as the exterior design,” says Vidakovic, “but it can only follow that to a certain point: a car interior must always have an inviting ambience.”

For interior designers Ernst Reim and Tony Peat the exterior proved a strong stimulus: “The most dominant aspect for me is the stance and proportion and the overall sense of dynamism, both sporting and muscular," said Peat.

“We needed to get a lot of that surface language into the interior. Often the exterior and interior can be quite separate with different form languages. But because of the way the doors open on iosis there had to be an instant visual link between the interior and exterior.”

It was a similar process that led Ruth Pauli and her colour and trim designers Silke Welskopp and Laura Blossfeld to employ distinctive materials for iosis.

However, as she explains other factors outside the motor industry played a pivotal role in the choice of trim materials and colours: “There's a need to interpret the dynamic sporty exterior in a very modern way," said Pauli. "The vital thing was to connect futuristic materials with sophisticated materials; there are very technical materials like rubber combined with leather, combined with neoprene and high quality aluminium components. The ambience we wanted to create was a combination of a technical character with sophistication.”

Tony Peat wanted to create a light, airy interior through the subtle use of structures and materials, whilst emphasising the driver orientation.

The interior team wanted the driver to be enticed by the interior as the doors swung open. Immediately apparent is the ultra modern steering wheel fashioned from solid aluminium with contrasting orange glove leather grips and a black leather airbag pad.

Both Pauli and Peat are proud of the 'futuristic, aircraft fighter meets sportsbike' design cues.

The best example of this approach is in the Focus World Rally Car inspired sequential gear shifter, just a hand span from the steering wheel. Beautifully crafted from solid aluminium and finished in a unique anodised soft warm brown-grey with orange leather it embodies all the themes running through the interior and includes the starter button mounted beneath a flip lid on top of the shifter.

Ahead of the driver is a simple instrument binnacle, featuring counterbalanced needles as in a high quality chronometer. Between the dials is a high definition LCD display for navigation or to display views from the three rearward facing cameras.

Vidakovic describes the centre stack as the car's “art gallery”, housing auxiliary switchgear that can be used in conjunction with, or instead of, touch screen controls for navigation, in-car entertainment or air-conditioning controls.

The centre stack also houses docking points for a pair of memory sticks. It is possible in the future that rather than using a conventional key or even keyless entry, a memory stick would be used.

The skeletal frames of the seats feature a ribcage and vertebrae structure fashioned from aluminium and formed rubber . Separating the front seats is a 'flying bridge' centre console housing the electronic parking brake. When viewed from the rear seats the cues drawn from motorcycle design are very evident.

Another interesting feature is the extensive use of electroluminescent foil to illuminate the doors and ceiling. In addition to being very package friendly, it emits a gentle, even light and can be cut into any shape, hence the roof pattern reminiscent of Peruvian Nazca geoglyphs.

Ruth Pauli was keen to move Ford's use of colours and materials forward by exploring new combinations: “I wanted to create an ambience with very technical metals and other finishes in combination with very fresh and crisp modern looking materials. A key image we kept coming back to was of a 'combat swimmer.' As a result, neoprene has been used in a technical orange shade and in dark charcoal featuring the same stitching used on wet suits, especially in touch areas."

A unique leather finish has been specially developed for iosis that has a subtle metallic look. It still has a natural grain in a deep charcoal tone and the top surface is picked out with a subtle graphite shade.

Other contact areas such as the steering wheel and the shifter combine the stark, cold hardness of bare metal with the peach skin softness of orange glove leather. Whilst the centre stack and console is a combination of leather in their upper portions melding into rubber in the lower section to achieve a distinctive graphic split down to the floor covering.

For the floor, conventional carpeting has been replaced with a more rugged, structured weave with technical silver highlights.

“The interior architecture is quite simple in itself,” explains Vidakovic, “but its design shines through in its detailed execution and the choice of contrasting materials unusual in automotive applications.”

(Source: Ford)