Moray Callum, Ford’s Vice President of Design, on Exuberance, Sibling Rivalry, and What’s Next in Auto Design

Moray-Lead.jpg
We’re only a few days away from “Decoding Design," Ford Motor Company’s second panel discussion in a series called “Designing Innovation." Last month, we listened along as fuseproject’s Yves B&aeacute;har, Autodesk’s Jordan Brandt, Ford’s Freeman Thomas and California College of the Arts’s Nathan Shedroff shared their thoughts on the role of technology in design and how products stand out from and fit in with the world around them—among many other hot topics. Taking the stage this week isRobert Tercek Panel Moderator and Creative Strategist; Jane MacGonigal, Game Designer; Moray Callum, Vice President of Design at Ford Motor Company; and Gadi Amit, Founder of NewDealDesign. Make sure to tune in on Wednesday, June 25 at 1:15 ET for the live-stream right here on the Core77 Designing Innovation channel. If you’ve got a question you’d like answered at the discussion, submit it on Twitter using the hashtag #designinginnovation for a chance to hear it on stage.
We caught some time with Moray to tell us a bit more about his history with automotive design and his work with Ford:
Core77: Let’s start from the beginning—how did you end up becoming a car designer?
Moray Callum: I was always surrounded by cars, but I actually wanted to be a vet at one point. A day spent on a farm made me change my mind pretty quickly. I started off studying architecture but quickly gravitated towards an industrial design course. I knew a lot about cars and had a true passion for them—the step from industrial design to automotive design was an easy one.
You started at Ford in 1995, went to Mazda in 2001 and then returned to Ford in 2006—how do you feel the brand’s design changed during the time you were at Mazda?
In terms of changes at Ford, those are the years Ford developed its kinetic design language—you can see its influence in some of our current products to some extent.
How do you think you helped freshen the brand’s look when you returned to Ford?
I learned a lot at Mazda. I found myself working on more exuberant, emotive cars than I was used to. It taught me the importance of understanding different brand values and using them as a guide through the design of a car. The first product I worked on when I returned to Ford was the latest generation Ford Taurus. Every car since that one shows more of that emotional design language.
Moray-FordMustang.jpgThe 2015 Ford Mustang

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