Profiling formgiving strategy towards local automotive design development / Nur Farrah Najwa Misnan

The use of design elements from concept stage to production stage is critical in new product development process. This is important as many efforts have been made to penetrate specific focus such as market segment, culture and trend movement etc. In automotive design development practice for instance, has shown inconsistency between design concept and production stage. For example, Proton Tuah concept, which debuted in 2010 at the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS) is different from the production version of Proton Preve, which was launched in 2012. Whereas a lot of theory models indicates the importance of keeping consistency through the entire process in new product development (NPD). The typical new product development process is carried out in a step-by-step approach, starting with the initial concept, design development, validation, and production phase. It is plausible that the products derived from this method to have a resemblance with its conceptual counterparts. However, that is not always the case. This could be due to the numerous concern factors that influence the final decision of each stage in the NPD process. For this reason, this research focuses on exploring three major objective which is to identify design influences during product optimization and the process of design development from a designer’s perspective. In order to achieve the objective, this research study on automotive car design concept as a research subject with the implementation of Malaysian identity. The research method approach consists of interview with expert designers, design element analysis through mapping of line drawing and Design Protocol Analysis (DPA). The DPA includes a design task in a controlled environment to study the process of design conceptualization and development to five expert designers. This research covers Malaysia's identity which is in the public domain and considered on icons that represent Malaysia as well as have been discussed previously by scholars. The research finding through data analysis shows minimal changes on the pattern of idea development between design concept and final design. All design was heavily focused on the front face of the car rather than other areas. Meanwhile, the characteristic of inspiration approaches was shown through the implementation of visual elements that represent specific design meanings that can be categorized into character-based design and dominant Malay identity. From the data collected, most visual elements are incorporated to create a strong impression. Through the analysis of process in design development and the implementation of inspiration approaches, rarely, design inconsistencies occur during the drawing and design activity. The results of this research, however, do not rely on any manufacturing standards procedures to define a new production strategy, particularly for designing, but rather on the use of its capabilities to achieve different design goals and to instruct designers in how to put their ideas into real or practical practise.