POLI.Design – Transportation & Automobile Design

Master Description

The Master Transportation & Automobile Design (TAD) promoted by Politecnico di Milano University and organized by POLI.design has reached this year its Tenth Edition.

It’s a highly successful Master that features top employability rankings, with over 80% former students hired in the transportation design industry within 18 months.

The Master is directed by Fausto Brevi, professor at the Scuola del Design del Politecnico di Milano, and is offered to a limited number of maximum 20 international students.

It is targeted to students who hold a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in design-related fields (engineering, architecture, industrial design). Lectures take place at POLI.design’s headquarters in Milan, Via Durando 38/A.

The goal of this state-of-the-art, 15-month course is to train designers to allow them to develop their own creativity through the entire process typical of styling centers: from the definition of exterior shapes to the development of the interiors; the research and selection of materials and colors; the digital modeling and physical clay modeling processes.

At the end of the course, students divided into teams present their concept projects and build the design models.

The Master is held in collaboration with Volkswagen Group Design, whose designers every year challenge students with a different design theme.

Goals

The goal of this Specializing Master is to train a professional designer who is able to develop her or his own creativity, while innovatively integrating it with the academic knowledge specific to the syllabus. At the same time, the student is expected to experience the whole style-development process typical of the automobile industry.

This Specializing Master is designed to enable graduates in industrial design, engineering or architecture who are interested in a career in automobile design to bring rigorous focus to their curriculum.

Professionals Outlets

This Specializing Master produces an innovative professional with advanced skills related to the main tasks involved in creating an automobile’s style.

Its goal is to give students the chance to enter the production stream for auto-industry design. This is not limited to traditional roles or companies but encompasses a network of enterprises that interact and collaborate with corporate design departments on co-design projects. Acquired skills include teamwork and conflict management.

Educational Path

The Transportation & Automobile Design Specializing Master is made up of lessons, project seminars, workshops, and a final Master thesis. The course plan consists of 17 learning modules, selected so as to provide a mix that will assure the theoretical and practical knowledge essential to developing transportation-design projects with full awareness of the context.

Modules

• Car Design Studio
• Exterior Car Design
• Interior Design Studio
• Alias modelling for Car Design
• Car Design Culture
• Transportation Design Workshops
• Multimedia Tools for Car Design
• Adobe Tools
• Vehicles Architecture
• Experience Interaction Design for Vehicles
• Colour & Trim
• Ergonomics
• Presentation Techniques for Car Design
• Creative Group Empowerment
• Portfolio Empowerment
• IP law in Automotive Design
• Internship or Project Enhancement Studio

Partners

Partners for the recent editions have included, among the others, Wacom, Dallara the Volkswagen Group.

Students’ Projects

TAD 8th Edition (2017)

Audi e-Nova

A 3-volumes 4-seats sedan targeted to a young audience. The main volumes are shaped to optimize aerodynamics and to appeal the target customer.

The low clearance contributes to the car’s slender look, and a an extendable rear volume improves air flows, disappearing at low speeds to reduce length and improve agility.

Audi Treviri

A compact 2-seats car combining compact dimensions and driving agility with the internal comfort of a luxurious sedan.

The volumes and the surface treatments are inspired by boat design and every line is designed to decrease the air resistance. The interior layout can be changed in two different settings: a traditional one and a driverless configuration that turns the cabin into a lounge.

Audi Turracher

A car inspired by the outdoor sport spirit, featuring a full-electric drivetrain, all-wheel drive, optimal aerodynamics and a cabin made with eco-high-tech materials.

The shape of the car can be modified depending on the users’ needs: the ground clearance can be lowered to achieve the dynamic performance of a sport car, while  the 4-seats cabin can be converted into a huge cargo space for transporting items such as bulky sports gear.

Audi Zephiros

A small 2-seats hybrid sports car with a double soul: it can deliver racetrack-style performance thanks to the extreme aerodynamic, but it can also achieve extremely low emissions and fuel consumption.

All the lines and volumes are designed to  create an emotional, pleasant impact on the viewer.

Page 2: Previous Design Projects

(Image Courtesy: POLI.design for Car Body Design)