A timeline of design
THE WAY cars appear like how they look like today has a lot to do with the technology, lifestyle, and culture prevalent in present global society. The automobile, ever since it emerged after horse-drawn carriages, has taken on a load of changes not only in terms of performance, but also of design.
A 2011 paper presented at the International Conference on Innovative Methods in Product ( ICIMP) in Venice, Italy stated that automobile design, beginning with the horseless carriage, has been driven by the attempt to create a semantic frame for speed.
“The apex of this arc was reached with the missile designs of the 1950s,” the authors wrote. “Changes in lifestyle and culture have changed the semantic meaning of the frame over time. History has brought us full circle today as designers assign the semantic frame of animals to biodesigning techniques.”
According to the study, all vehicles looked the same in the beginning, and new motorized vehicles released in 1885 neither had a body nor a shell.
“The first car was essentially an engine, three wheels and a frame. All of the mechanics were exposed for easy access. Inventors were more concerned about function rather than form. Getting the machine to work properly was the first priority,” they said. “Design aesthetics came later.”
In mapping the evolution of automotive design, they identified seven eras: invention, innovation, manufacturing, capsule, classic, integration, and modern. They said each era is earmarked by a particular style or design aesthetic, which was heavily influenced by factors like fashion, makeup, hairstyles, art and architecture, popular culture, and movies.
They added that this period in history “witnessed a shift away from the horse carriage to the Model T Ford.”
“Automobile semantics followed an arc of speed and power reaching its zenith in the 1960s at the height of the missile era in US politics,” wrote the authors. “In the modern age, designers have come full circle using organic forms, animals, and bio- designing as the semantic frame.”
Based on their research, the invention era began with Karl Benz’s launch of the Benz car in 1885 and went on for roughly 10 years before Henry Ford decided to introduce his own. Prior to these motorized wagons, vehicles used to transport people were mainly steam-powered.
Karl Benz, who produced industrial machines and static gas engines, reportedly wanted to create an automobile that would run entirely on its own power. The car featured wire wheels as opposed to the wooden ones in carriages, and a four-stroke engine of Benz’s own design.
After 1896 and throughout the innovation era, the automobile was seen more a novelty than an actual useful device. While the horse- drawn carriage was still largely the reliable method of transportation, automobiles “sparked people’s imagination.” This period saw new industrialists transitioning to a more fast- paced lifestyle, prompting automobile designers to highlight speed and freedom in producing cars.
The manufacturing era lasted from around 1908 to the beginning of World War I in 1914. Before the period, auto designers were believed to have favored ornate Edwardian architecture in their works, but the changes happening in manufacturing brought about simpler, more affordable models.
Further, automotive technology developed rapidly during this time as hundreds of small manufacturers competed to gain the world’s attention. The authors of the ICIMP paper said among the key developments in the era included the electric ignition system, independent suspension, and four-wheel brakes, while transmissions and throttle controls were widely adopted to allow a variety of cruising speeds.
Between 1920 and 1930, the capsule era set in and designers finally chose to close the body of the car.
“When designing a car interior, the value and semantic meaning can be manipulated by opening or closing the space. Simply changing the way the space is divided can change the emotional expression of the space for the consumer,” they wrote. “The new closed body accentuated by