Made you look: BMW’s design logic
The duo behind BMW’s divisive approach to design and that grille explain themselves – and insist it’s working.
Putting a date on the start of the groundswell of anti-BMW design sentiment isn’t straightforward. But identifying the moment it went supernova is easy: the 2019 Frankfurt motor show. BMW pulled the covers from its new 4-series tease, the Concept 4, and the world’s internet servers instantly hit their rev limiters.
Focusing on the massive double kidney grille, the reaction was ferocious. Other cars unveiled since then, like the iX e-SUV, have done little to derail the notion that BMW design is on a self-destructive path. But here, from BMW’s design team, is the case for the defence.
IT’S DELIBERATE
BMW is convinced its customers fall into two broad camps, with the majority (around 70 per cent according to design chief Domagoj Dukec) fond of BMWs with an elegant and harmonious aesthetic. Cars like the 3-series and 5-series are aimed squarely at them. But elegant and harmonious doesn’t, says BMW, appeal to the other 30 per cent. They want to make a statement – hence cars like the 4-series.
‘These individuals really want to polarise,’ says Dukec. ‘In the past the 4-series was just a sporty 3-series, but these customers are different – they want a more irrational car, and they’re willing to pay more for that emotional expression, and to really make a statement.’ Group design boss Adrian van Hooydonk elaborates: ‘I don’t think good design has to polarise but I think the concept of beauty can be polarising. It comes back to the customer, and if one kind of customer is looking for a beautiful and timeless car, then of course we will design nd it. But there are also customers looking for something like an X6, which is certainly polarising – you either hate it or you love it. That approach wouldn’t work for a 3-series or a 5-series because they sell in bigger volumes, so it’s clear you can’t come with one solution.’
CHANGE IS EMOTIONAL ‘Sometimes you see universal praise for change, but it is rare,’ says van Hooydonk. ‘People love what we do – for them,
BMW is an emotional thing. But the moment you change it, they might have an issue with that. Our job is to debate how much change to make – how much change is good for the company?
‘We’re talking about products that will come into the market in 2024 and remain there beyond 2030. The name of the game is to move enough so that the company thrives in the future, and not move so much that you lose contact with your fan base.’
THE KIDNEYS BELONG TO BMW ALONE ‘Be assured that every designer in my team knows and loves the BMW brand,’ says Dukec. ‘This is important. Then consider the fact that our kidney grilles are an icon. This is important because we see so many new players coming up, start-ups with no real identity, trying to create their face. Inevitably some of these come closer than others but the kidneys are unique, and our biggest differentiator.’
Van Hooydonk adds: ‘Right now, in Munich, there are five Chinese start-ups who have set up design studios and sourced some of their designers and design managers out of our team. You could say it’s a compliment, but obviously it makes for some disruption.’
IT’S (MOSTLY) NOT ABOUT CHINA
‘Let’s be clear, the new 4-series was not designed for China, yet people think this and they read it on social media,’ says Dukec. ‘This car was not even planned for China. But it has had the impact we expected. People are waiting for the car, and they hate to wait! They are also willing to pay more for this car. We see this reaction from the customers we were targeting.’