It was the ultimate show and tell.
In October, University of Cincinnati (UC) transportation design students got a rare insight into the inspiration and passion behind the classic design of a Jaguar.
The event was the appearance of Cesar Pieri, the Creative Design Manager at Jaguar, who spoke to students in master design classes, laying out the artistic process of how some random sketching can lead to a production model.
Pieri was part of the team that designed the Jaguar F-type, the 21st century spiritual successor to the D-type, the iconic 1950s racing car, and its E-type, spun off for consumers. The 2013 F-type design blended retro styling with more modern touches. Pieri also designed the F-type Project 7, a collector’s edition sports car with a limited run of 250 sold worldwide.
Pieri’s appearance was part of a proactive effort by the design school to explore new ways to engage with industry by inviting design leaders to run hands-on classes, according to Gjoko Muratovski, director at the Myron E. Ullman, Jr. School of Design, part of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at the University of Cincinnati.
“Our latest engagement with Jaguar is a great example of this experiential-based learning approach,” says Muratovski. “We are not only creating exceptional experiences for our students, but we are also raising our own international profile and helping Cincinnati to be regarded as a global hub of design and creativity.”
Jaguar Land Rover of Cincinnati, the region’s only Jaguar dealership, helped out with the “show” part of the event by putting several models on display at the college, including an F-type R, F-Pace and XE.
“UC said it would be nice to have some cars and we said, ‘Sure, we’ll Jaguar-ize the event for you,’” says Eric West, a sales guide at the dealership and UC grad. “Students were able to get their hands on the cars and do some sketching.”
West says he probably got as much out of Pieri’s presentation as the students. “For a guy like me who sits in the real world and sells them, it was extremely interesting to hear how this all comes about.”
West notes it was refreshing to look at the process through the lens of the designer compared to that of a sales person. “Pieri made the point you sometimes need to just keep sketching and sketching,” West said. “I think you need to drain the tank before you finally get to the really good idea.”
Muratovski says the vehicle display allowed for an open air critique from the designer himself, not constrained to the classroom. “As you can imagine, for students based in Cincinnati, Ohio to have a design executive from Jaguar to come here from the U.K. and to personally explain to them how they design Jaguars by having a live demonstration is an incredibly rare opportunity,” he says. “For the students participating in these master classes, this was an event that they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Jaguar Land Rover Cincinnati is located at 9115 Blue Ash Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242. For more information, call 513.791.1000 or visit www.cincyjlr.com.