Aftermarket Parts

The UK’s automotive aftermarket category is thriving with a large number of companies selling products. More often than not they are conversion companies designing the parts inhouse. Some turn to studios like drive who are experienced in designing and engineering aftermarket parts. Unique designs providing tuning houses and independent conversion companies successful product lines. Thus enabling them to become market leaders in the UK’s lucrative aftermarket sector, worth over £21 billion per year.

Styling Kits

While there are a lot of people who are happy with their ‘forecourt’ product, many want to enhance or personalise their vehicles beyond the factory options.  They are either looking to improve on performance or enhance the styling be that subtle or bold.  Whatever the taste of the individual, the demand is for parts designed and made to the highest quality. 

Conversion Companies

At Drive, our track record working with vehicle manufacturers, known as OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and low volume specialists, places us in a unique position to support styling houses or conversion companies wanting to create their own product lines for cars and vans. 

Design and Development

Utilising our expertise and knowledge of designing aftermarket accessories, we support projects from concept sketch to final product delivery.  We develop creative concepts with design and engineering understanding for manufacture. With industry connections for production, we add measurable value to our clients’ businesses.

Injection Moulded Parts

Depending on the desired design language and business positioning we create appropriate car and van body kit designs. We can use the same brand language as the OEM and deliver mass produced injection moulded parts. This allows us to replicate the original fixing methods and crucial placement of any sensors.  This approach allows our clients the assurance of fit enabling quick turn around. 

Composite Parts

For the more extreme designs for limited editions or lower production numbers, the more suitable or cost effective route may well be production of composite or carbon fibre parts.

Design Partner

We are confident that drive are the perfect design partner to help create a differentiating product line of aftermarket accessories adding a significant revenue stream to your business. If you are thinking of designing a car body kit, get in touch and we’ll be happy to discuss your plans.

Design Development

2023 Market Report

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Trust has to be earned, so in order to build mutual trust with the person we are talking to, and by extension our companies, we have to start with what we believe in at drive; respect, honesty and security.

But this is not enough.

Our clients are approaching drive, for us to deliver them quality design work, and if we can’t meet their needs why should they trust us?

It is therefore important that we understand, and are aligned with, their project goals.

Which means being flexible enough to tailor our services to deliver better results for them.

That is why when we talk about The Driveway it not a defined process, it is our attitude and approach.

This all sounds good, but unless we deliver on what we are promising, then there will be no trust.

Honesty really is the best policy. If we know we can’t deliver what the client needs (or in their timescale or budget), we find it is better to be honest with them, and ourselves, and politely decline.

Sometimes it is difficult to turn away work, but in the long run we prefer not to let you down, whilst maintaining your trust.

We are talking about building trust with clients or companies, but it is really between people.  We hope that the trust we have built will exist beyond a project, or a place of employment, and will help us establish a good reputation.

In the ever more connected product and automotive design worlds, establishing and protecting that reputation is a must.

#drivenbydesign®
#TheDriveway

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When the founders of Zenos Cars, Mark Edwards and Ansar Ali started, they went through a process of deciding what their approach was to be establishing and naming their a new car brand.

They considered several options including buying an established company, registering / purchasing a recognised but now dissolved marque or starting afresh with a totally new brand.

Looking at the pros and cons they decided that on balance it would be better if they started with a clean sheet and build from scratch.

They invested and went to such lengths involving brand advisors from the very start, to ensure they got it right, realising how important this aspect of their offering was.

They were able to create a strong brand proposition for their new company, to deliver an engaging (thrilling) experience focused around lightweight sportscars – “Experience the thrill of belonging”.

The brand values were to be defined by Accessible, Ingenious, True, Rigorous, Passionate and Attentive.

It would not necessarily be easy to establish themselves or the brand, however the problems of taking an existing or previously known brand far outweighed the benefits. 

Namely that the baggage brands can carry could hold back the operation.  Anything from die hard enthusiasts of the now defunct manufacturer, through to trying to get buy in from an existing workforce accept a new direction.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle being that it can be difficult to shake off any previous assumptions or negativity associated with an existing brand.

So when starting your company, getting everything right from the beginning is vital, from the name, product proposition and brand identity.

Get in touch and we’d be happy to share our experience.

#drivenbydesign®
#TheDriveway

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We frame the meeting to get a true insight of the required project outcome, by asking questions and really listening to the answers.

And by listening, I don’t mean we use the time to think about what we can say next.

Any solution or reply to the points raised, should be considered over time, and may even only be correctly answered at the project kick-off meeting or during the project itself.

We believe that by having the client discovery meeting, understanding the problem fully and using our creativity to make sure the design solutions look great and can be produced, we be build long lasting relationships.

Get in touch to have your initial conversation with us.

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I have been fortunate to be shown round many design studios in my time, from super yacht consultancies to major car manufacturers. As well as being served a coffee in many of their meeting rooms, but none come close to the feeling of history expressed by this boardroom.

For those who don’t know what the connection Rubery Owen have to the car industry, Sir Alfred Owen was responsible for rescuing the BRM F1 racing team.  Saved from almost certain extinction his support saw BRM rise to take the Formula 1 World Constructors Championship, as well as the F1 driver’s title with Graham Hill at the wheel.

Rubery Owen Boardroom

We were there, at the old Rubery Owen headquarters, with a team putting together a proposition to take the BRM name back into the limelight, with a supercar programme.

Steeped in history, the idea that just perhaps Graham Hill or Jackie Stewart had signed a contract or two here, a bit like an audience with Enzo Ferrari, fuelled my imagination.

BRM Trophies

BRM trophies and personal mementos were lovely to look at and were such a rare opportunity for anyone to see.
I was in heaven.

The Bourne Heritage Trust Museum

The Bourne Heritage Trust Museum has been entrusted with many of the BRM F1 race winning trophies, which were donated to them by Rubery Owen, allowing a much larger audience to view these pieces of motorsport history.

The old Rubery Owen & Co. HQ in Booth Street, Darlaston, is still standing today thanks to David Owen OBE and Accord Housing Association. Now named “The Rubery Owen Innovation Centre” the interior having been converted for small business use.

I am so pleased that the Rubery Owen boardroom still exists in the building.

This year Graham Hill would have celebrated his 95th Birthday – seems as good a time as any to recall my visit to Rubery Owen.

Bourne Town | Bourne Heritage Centre

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Major car companies carry out most of their design work themselves, with dedicated design departments capable of handling every aspect of the design process.  But few companies do not use the services of external design consultancies for some smaller projects or as a validation of their internal designs, whilst many smaller niche companies use such consultancies to supplement their more limited in-house design facilities on larger design projects.

In most cases the reason we get shown around a company’s design facilities is because Drive is working with them or about to.  They see that Drive has something to offer them and they want us to work with their teams to stimulate creativity and maximise the design output.  Whether it be for market insights, a fresh design perspective or simply additional digital resource we are able to provide focussed and professional expertise.

As with the studio space, I question ‘how can we compete’ when recruiting creative talent, when automotive OEMs can offer so much in terms of employment, facilities and certainty of projects well into the future.

Again we don’t compete, what we have to offer is different.

We are an efficient studio that has a welcoming, creative and professional atmosphere.  We work with numerous brands so it is unlikely that we will designing a similar face of a car or same product for long.  The type of work is varied, and is more likely to be concept ideation than production detailing.  The projects will cover a large spectrum with mobility solutions, aircraft interiors  or maybe another supercar inspired Track-tor being as likely as the next production SUV.

A consultancy environment like Drive’s isn’t for everyone, but the constant change benefits our creative team keeping them fresh, interested and gaining a breadth of experiences that differentiates them from other designers.  The very skill set that many design chiefs look for in their next hire, indeed two former Drive employees will be able relax at the new SAIC coffee bar.

It is the diverse experiences that attracts our clients and benefits their projects as they get new perspectives, fresh ideas and insight from our broad knowledge gained across different industries and clients.

So if you are looking for some creative input for your next project or if a consultancy environment is somewhere you would like to work, come round for a chat.  We don’t have a coffee bar but we do have a fantastic café around the corner.

(SAIC Design Advanced London top image – photos source SAIC)

https://www.instagram.com/drivedesign/

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Niche vehicles have always provided opportunities for entrepreneurs to build successful businesses but now more than ever they are providing a solution to specific transportation problems. This is leading to opportunities for OEMs to use niche vehicles to expand their brand into new mobility markets, become leaders by redefining a market or exploiting new technologies.

Low volume vehicles provide unique challenges in the product offering, manufacturing constraints and the commercial demands.  Drive have been involved in numerous projects and have built up experience of the various approaches to the business proposal, from designers wishing to produce their concept, technology led business opportunities and brand experience products.  Many low volume manufacturers such as Hennessey, Apex Motors, Delta Motorsport,  Zenos Cars, Caterham Cars and Lightning Car Company have benefited from Drive’s expertise at various stages during their projects.

Whilst the funding for niche vehicle projects is provided from varying sources depending on the circumstances, the necessary underlying business case has to be rigorously tested and proved just the same, before investing of valuable time, resources and money.  Drive’s in depth experience can help build the background to the project, give crucial investor confidence in the participating parties and provide experience and guidance throughout project timeline.

Through the development and refinement of the design our experienced team maintain the initial design intent whilst answering the engineering and economic challenges posed by these unique projects.

Drive’s understanding of the difficulties facing a car company startup, and niche vehicle manufacturers (NVMs) trying to establish a company or product, make them ideal partners to be involved in the development of a robust product concept and commercial strategy, whilst helping identify design and manufacturing efficiencies through collaboration with strategic partners.

Not every venture can be the success that everyone is looking for but minimising the risk by being fully aware of the undertaking at the start, with suitable gateways mapped out so that owners and investors can make informed decisions before embarking on the next phase, help to increase the chances of a sustainable business.

https://www.nichevehiclenetwork.co.uk

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Design is all about opinion, this is one.  You can take all of it on board, some of it on board or none at all.

Unlike other designers giving you advice, this is from someone who actually employs both graduates and established designers .

PORTFOLIOS

From designers to alias modellers, we are all aware that our industry doesn’t tend to favour the conventional CV and cover letter with a careful placement of buzz words/phrases like ‘I can manage a team of people and take on individual responsibilities’.  Although these are areas we all have to consider, at the end of the day it is the your Portfolio that we are discussing here. 

KNOW WHO YOU ARE APPLYING TO

If all you have is speed boats and lawn mowers in your portfolio then I would say it is quite rare that an automotive studio will consider you. Research the studio / brand and try your best to think of what they might look for in a candidate.

“You are only as good as your worst piece of work”. As a designer, your portfolio will mainly be put under the eyes of other designers, we love looking at them, we want to be excited, we want to see that sketch or render that inspires us and then we will want you!  So reduce or throw away lifeless package drawings of translucent, colour filled boxes that say “batteries” or “motors”, and the 97.5 percentile Dutch males that you’ve squashed into your vehicle.

Keep your projects to a minimum, we see 56 page portfolios with about 10 projects in.  These are too big to keep/capture attention for the period of time it would take to digest that amount of information / wade through it.  We are designers ourselves and therefore have to do the day job designing and unfortunately we can’t spend all day every day looking at portfolios!

DISCARDING OLDER PROJECTS

This is the hard bit, discarding older projects as your skills have improved …. nearly impossible to do sometimes as you probably hold emotions for each project as if they were your own child.  They aren’t your children and they don’t have emotions, cut them out and be brutal.  Do it, cut it down, get through it.  Even if you are left with 3 projects of a high standard, we will think that you can do everything of this level.

Cut out some of the projects you may have done like – 1. Clay head project  2. Any ergonomics based project with lights that reflect your mood  3. An alias model or render which is then repeated in different colours to show colour choices up to 5-6 times (padding out your portfolio?).

VARIATIONS OF DESIGN WORK

This topic divides people when asked, and can be difficult to answer without causing a whole world of LinkedIn design debates. I prefer the overall portfolio to be focussed. Try to mix it up, don’t just have 3 projects of space ships and fantastic speed painting art work, show that side of you by all means it’s great to see, however try and include some good old fashioned automotive design, displaying an understanding of surfacing, brand interpretation and proportion over 4 conventional wheels.

Your portfolio should be a reflection of yourself, it should be presented in a way that you are comfortable with.  Your style should be natural rather than something that is forced.  Always be honest with the way that you work, whether you are all about hand sketching or a Photoshop wizard, show how you work as we all have different ways we do things.

DESIGN COMPETITIONS

A great way to stay sharp, promote your name and they really keep you on your toes.  Polestar, the Michelin design challenge and interior motives to name but a few, the briefs are usually fun, and if it is not fun then you need to twist their brief to do so!  No one wants to design something boring in their spare time.  These usually have no engineering requirement, package constraints or a need to convince university tutors to what you are doing, go forth and have fun!

CV WRITING

Like my car designer portfolio advice – Keep it simple, if you don’t have that much to show it’s ok, we have all been in your shoes at some point and we don’t expect to see years of experience from a student.  Whatever you do, please don’t write that you have been ‘freelancing’, unless you can back it up with examples to prove you haven’t just living at home with your parents with a part time job.  Better to say you have been working on your portfolio and design competitions in an evening, but again you have to back it up with the evidence!

SELF RATING CHARTS

My last thought on this topic, which I could probably continue to preach about for another hour whilst I annoy my colleagues by seemingly moaning endlessly is this …. the self-rating skill charts!  Now I’m not sure what the universities have been preaching to the students of late, but here’s my number one pointless thing to put in your portfolio if you are applying to be a designer or alias modeller.  Grading yourself out of 10, maybe out of 5 stars even and stating how good you are at alias, photoshop, design or sketching.

The idea of your portfolio or data you send is that we will be working out your abilities. Then deciding the level we see you, and where we feel you would fit within a studio. Whatever you do, please don’t include ‘football’ as a skill set, to which you then score yourself higher on this than any other design skills.  Makes me think you should be a professional footballer instead!  (NOTE: Only exception is if you are applying to drive where your karting lap times are important)

Have an opinion, perhaps a photo of you applying a tape to a clay model or sketching revealing some of your personality and be protective over your pen. Talk about sketches with emotions and feelings and never be truly happy with your work. Keep portfolios to no bigger than 5mb (if possible)

Although car designer portfolio advice is aimed at graduates, I hope it helps everyone.

If you are serious about securing
a design role within a leading studio.
To give yourself the best opportunity
drive offer a Resume / CV and portfolio review service.

Careers progression

Coventry University Automotive Design Course

The post Car designer portfolio advice appeared first on Drive Automotive Design Consultancy.

The company founders Ansar Ali and Mark Edwards, explained their unique market proposition and we extracted a few key words that would define their brand.  Drive had to create a design language that would embody all of their aspirations, for a completely new British sports car brand.  The E10 would be a mid-engined, carbon fibre tubbed car priced at less than £25,000.

A challenges during the initial design process was achieving the delicate balance between a friendly, approachable look fitting the brand values, with a thrilling, lightweight track day car.  With  affordability in mind, Drive wanted to highlight the innovation of the carbon composite material and reflect the intelligence of the styling.  The break up of panels, wings and tub allowing ease of production and lower repair costs compared to the single clam mouldings used on competitor products.   Drive’s designers, working closely with engineers and composite manufacturers Bright Lite Structures,  developed the final break down of parts and assemblies.

The close relationship between Drive and Zenos, and the openness of the management team were key to ensure that the design and business needs aligned at every stage of he project.

The public’s response to the car’s design was measured by the 40 deposits taken from customers before they had even seen it run.  This justification of the product, only raised the pressure to deliver on their promise to have the production model ready for January 2015.  Drive and Zenos launched into a rapid production development phase sensitive to the fact that the car’s appearance couldn’t alter significantly, but taking the opportunity to tune the car’s character and balance.

This phase involved working with suppliers on feasibility whilst ensuring manufacturing costs were kept on target keeping to the business plan and budget.  The secret of the E10’s affordability relative to its performance, is off-the-shelf Ford components engine, gearbox, and brakes.  The innovative composite tub made from recycled carbon fibre that offers 70 per cent of the lightness and stiffness of pure carbon-fibre for a tenth of the cost.

The interior’s design, built around the ideal driving positon, the quality of the panels and fit had to exceed what would be expected at the cars price point.  This approach saw Zenos Cars has take more than 110 deposits and a first year production run being approximately 70.  For Zenos’s founders Ansar Ali and Mark Edwards, the E10 represents the culmination of a dream.For Drive Design, it provides a mobile showcase for its design strategies for startup companies searching for the kind of collaborative, ground-up design approach that only Drive can deliver.

“Drive completely believed in and understood our vision right from the beginning. They committed themselves in every respect to developing the design of the E10, and helped us deliver a car that looks fantastic, great handling and well engineered” Ansar Ali. The Zenos E10 project is the essence of what we do at Drive.  We understand designing for a startup car company like Zenos.  We help them take their idea through to production whilst understanding their business needs.

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It is an insight to the approach, expertise and experience of Drive, recognising our 25 years as an independent design studio in the automotive sector.

This milestone was an opportunity to reflect and take a look at where we started, the intervening years and where we are now. Taking note of not what we do, but what we bring to the table, the reason clients trust us with their projects.

From those discussions we decided to communicate some of what we discovered through our website and our book DRIVEN BY DESIGN.

Thanks to everyone that contributed, from the layout, content, photography, those who actually worked on the projects for Drive and the clients who trusted us.

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