8/12/2019 Designer Interview_ Patrick Le Qu_ment - Car Design News

1/2

8/12/2019 Designer Interview_ Patrick Le Qu_ment - Car Design News

2/2

Le quement provides direction to a group of designers at the RenaultDesign Center in Guyancourt, France

Renault Initiale concept (1995)

Renault Scenic (1997)

Renault Vel Satis

2014 Car Design News Ltd

yesterday's products. The issue is not

being liked but being preferred - so

anything which enables us to better understand what moves customers in the

field of furniture or hi-fi des ign - and try to understand why - might give us a

leading edge".

To an extent this is the biggest constant challenge in any field of design; to see

over the horizon, to know and understand people in a way that will pre-empt their

desires and lead them towards new possibilities, but what is the biggest specific

challenge for Patrick le Quement in his current position?

"The biggest challenge for us is how to succeed our third phase of design".

The third phase of Renault design has been concentrating on making Renault

cars more seductive (Touch Design being a component of this) which followed in2002 the second phase that has focused on developing a corporate visual

identity which in turn followed the first phase that ran from 1988 -1995 and

successfully established Renault's capability to consistently deliver innovative

design.

Clearly Renault has changed and developed over the last two decades, but how

has its head of design changed and developed as a designer?

"I've learnt to real ly, better unders tand from errors. I've been fortunate to have had

many home runs, but I've had enough things which didn't work out which has

helped me not to fall into the Jesus Christ syndrome, wanting to walk on water!"

In recent years Renault has had two cars which have been commercially

unsuccessful; the Avantime and the Vel Satis, both of which were designs

compromised by proportions dictated by their technical package. Essentially

these two cars were not good designs and in his view the two mos t significant

failures that he has learnt from; "The learning was to know to really say no - I

should have fought even more".

So what then is good car design?

"I think good car design is moving design. Walter Gropius said that 'the miss ion

of the designer is to ins til a soul in the product born dead of the machine'. This is

our greatest role - to make life a little less brutal."

Home About Us Adverti se Help Legal Information Contact Us RSS

http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/info/general/rss/http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/info/contact/http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/info/legal/termshttp://www.cardesignnews.com/site/info/general/helphttp://www.cardesignnews.com/site/info/advertise/http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/info/about/http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/home/http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/homehttp://open_image%281%2C17616%29/http://open_image%281%2C17612%29/