Monday, January 20, 2014

Volvo Concept Coupe Signals New Design Direction

As an important part of brand transformation, the first of three concept cars was launched by Volvo – the Swedish car brand. Developed under Thomas Ingenlath, the unveil of the new design marks a key moment where the new design language focuses on how to inject more emotion into the brand.

“The new Volvo Concept Coupé reveals how we could shape our cars from now on. Free from the superficial surface excitement of other brands, we add emotional value to the Volvo brand with the calm, confident beauty that is the hallmark of Scandinavian design,” says Thomas Ingenlath.[1] In fact, the human-centric users’ experience was what highlighted by the Volvo’s new concept coupe, a large portrait touch-screen in the central console interacts with an adaptive dead-up display insured an exciting user interface and interaction.

Why human-centric users’ experience? The answer can be found according to my own experience in Sweden. I went to Lund four years ago as an exchange student and made a research focused on the local industry of Sweden, I still remembered that Volvo was ranked as the second brand that the Swedish prides, just following IKEA in my research. One day when I was distributing the questionnaire on campus of Lund University, the owner of the canteen told me that it was not the brand that the Swedish cared about, the consideration of humanized design was something that really worked. What people who bought Volvo as their family vehicles focused was how to make the life much easier and more enjoyable rather than the superficial elements such as the brand effect.

Just as the article said, while other brands are trying too hard to look luxurious and muscular, Volvo Cars will stand out as the calm, confident and naturally powerful challenger.[2] The designer seems have no ambition to blend in, and the Concept Coupe efficiently manifests how iconic design will reinforce Volvo’s identity.

In my view, whenever a company is planning to introduce a new product into the market, that is naming the product, financing and manufacturing, all those activities will inevitably create a lot of stress even for the accomplished entrepreneur. Before a new product is launched on the market, the designer has to consider several key factors in order to improve the operational effectiveness. Starting from a real problem was the bottom line for Volvo to obey, what Volvo did was providing something people actually want and making them stick around. The aim of doing a research is to make sure that it is actually a viable product for consumers, rather than just a cool idea that you think may work, and that’s why Volvo is trying to inject more emotion into its new design and satisfy the real need of customers.

In addition, the article failed to mention the delivery strategy for Volvo’s future products while the performance of supply chain can be a deciding factor in the success of all companies. So, as I see, what should be emphasized is the fact that Volvo Logistics has special expertise in the Automotive and Aviation industries, it continuously manage and refine global logistics systems in these sectors to make sure its clients stay competitive and profitable. Depending on the experience of creating the whole logistics systems, it might be possible for Volvo to add measurable efficiency to its business processes and save the costs. The inbound and outbound solution offer the detail analysis of the specific process while designing the highly effective distribution network.

Resource:
1. http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/123239-volvo-concept-coupe-set-for-frankfurt-reveal-embodies-new-design-direction

2. http://www.volvologistics.com/logistics/na/en-us/strategic%20solutions/vehicle%20delivery/Pages/vehicle%20delivery.aspx

3. http://www.carbodydesign.com/2013/08/volvo-concept-coupe/

4. http://www.multivu.com/mnr/62408-volvo-reveals-new-design-direction 






No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.