392 - Amko Leenarts of Ford Motor Co.
At the driver's seat of forty two simultaneous projects being completed across six internationally run studios Amko Leenarts doesn't ever take his foot off the pedal he designed. Hundreds of carefully idealized parts from hundreds of unique distributors all harmonize to make one fully realized interior that is the end product of over three years of work. No pressure right? And you were thought kerning a twelve letter word was laborious! Amko brings us an inside look at the intricate design process from start to finish at Ford Motor Company and sheds light on the parameters, usability, and safety constraints that go into every possible detail inside your car. Technology is actively shifting what we do inside our cars and how we do it. Amko is the one who helps determine how to incorporate each component across generations, cultures, and the various cup sizes we use.
Talking Points
- Making a tolerable package.
- What is the timeline from concept to car lot?
- Maintaining a flexible design concept.
- Analyzing mega trends across decades.
- The milestones in creating a car.
- Understanding your market to help dictate specialty design elements.
- Verification milestones that allow cross-department collaboration on usability.
- Reaching a design freeze.
- Incorporating hundreds of parts from just as many suppliers.
- The demands of making a cart every 5 seconds.
- Balancing dreams against your interior check book.
- Accounting for international cup sizes.
- Does a feature belong on the steering wheel or the Manhattan Space?
- Intuitive design that stylishly accommodates multiple functions.
- How the digital display has changed the delivery process of usable information.
- Don't overlook touch!
- Constraints and intricacy of industrial design.
- Autonomous cars shifting our focus from outside the windshield to inside the car.
- What would you do if you didn't have to drive your car?
- The human fascination with the automobile.
- From cigarette lighters to USB ports in just a decade.
- Thinking about the backseat.
- What everyday features are still being overlooked in a car.
- Working with a design from another era.
- How many people does Amko need to get design approvals from?
- Tying in market research to design.
- Does the CEO really know what he is talking about?
- Designing for wildly different generations.
- What tools are used to keep so many projects across so many teams in motion and on time.
- Solving problems while you sleep.
- Cooking and the act of creation.