Transportation e Car Designers: what do they do, and how to become one
Who are they and what do they do?
Transportation Designers are professionals specialising in designing innovative, functional and aesthetically appealing vehicles and transportation means.
Their goal is to design vehicles, from cars to motorcycles, trains to aeroplanes, with quality design, taking into account not only the technical aspects but also the psychological and social influences related to the concept of transportation.
A number of factors are taken into account when designing a vehicle, including aesthetics, technical performance, energy efficiency, safety, and user experience.
Role and responsibilities
The role of the Transportation Designers involves participating in all the stages of vehicle design, skillfully navigating through material research, digital modelling techniques, and graphic design.
A challenge facing Transportation Designers is balancing the human and social need for constant movement with the need to protect the environment while making the travel experience enjoyable for the user. Their responsibility is therefore, multidisciplinary involving artistic, technical, and ecological skills.
Transportation Designers must be creative and innovative, proposing up-to-date solutions that can meet market needs and considering industry trends and user needs.
Additionally, Transportation Designers are responsible for ensuring that the project complies with local and environmental regulations to preserve citizens' quality of life and protect the atmosphere from environmental pollution.
Career and salary
Transportation Designers can be employed by car manufacturers, collaborate with design companies specialising in transport, or work independently as freelancers. Salary varies based on professional experience and area of specialisation, but work in this field is generally well-paid.
Training as a Transportation Designer leads to a wide range of opportunities. However, specialising in a specific field allows skills to be perfected in a targeted direction.
IED offers several training courses at the end of which you can find employment in specific fields of work including:
Car Design
Car Designers are professionals specialising in automotive design responsible for coordinating the entire life cycle of an automotive project, from ideation to creating detailed 3D renderings and scale model production. Ensuring functionality, ergonomics, and efficiency of every aspect of the vehicle contributes to defining the overall driving experience and meeting the needs of an ever-evolving market.
Yacht Design
Yacht Designers are professionals in naval architecture, shipbuilding, and marine systems. They are responsible for designing the hull of the vessel, the distribution of interior spaces, and the choice of materials to be used.
Having this specialisation is an opportunity to explore one of the driving sectors of Made in Italy production. Moreover, the work of a Yacht Designers is well paid because it requires specialised skills and takes place in a niche sector characterised by high demand for work and limited supply.
IED Open Days
We look forward to meeting you in person at our premises and online, to learn more about our teaching offerings, get to know our services and interact with coordinators, lecturers and students.
Skills and training
Transportation Designers must have a number of fundamental technical skills to do the job effectively.
Some of these skills include the following:
- Drawing and illustration: strong proficiency in freehand drawing and graphic design
- 3D modelling: the ability to create digital three-dimensional models using software such as Rhinoceros or Alias.
- Rendering and visualisation: create photorealistic renderings through using software such as KeyShot or V-Ray
- Knowledge of materials and technologies, including bodywork materials, propulsion technologies and advanced safety systems.
- Understanding of ergonomics and usability: designing comfortable and efficient interiors, considering the end user’s needs
- Knowledge of norms and regulations
To succeed in this profession, Transportation Designers must possess a variety of skills, including technical skills, creativity, market knowledge, and the ability to communicate effectively with other team members.
How to become a Transportation and Car Designer
Are you looking for a highly professional and educational course to become a Transportation, Car or Yacht Designer?
With IED programmes you have the opportunity to acquire technical skills from the best professionals in the sector, whatever your starting level.
Discover all IED courses to become an Experienced Transportation Designer.
Master’s Degrees or Master's Programs
To further specialise and acquire advanced skills
Further education
To stay up-to-date and remain successful in the world of work
Summer Courses
To improve professional skills during the summer
Watch some videos related to Transportation Design
A4810 PROJECT BY IED
A4810 Project by IED (length 5091 mm - width 2010 mm - height 1055 mm - wheelbase 2717 mm) is a two-seater supercar, which combines the type of berlinetta car with a hydrogen power train in an experimental key. The engine and the tanks preserve a vehicle architecture typical of sports cars, but the disruptive novelty is the work of subtraction. The design proposes, in fact, an alternation between empty and full spaces, which visually lighten the vehicle and presents aerodynamic solutions inspired by Formula 1. The further challenge, won by A4810 Project by IED was the declination of a coat of arms such as Alpine in a segment and a typology that brings the brand to the top of the sports categories. The French-touch has been wisely preserved, without making the car redundant with unnecessary formal elements, but instead working on superimposed levels and sculptural aspects of the surfaces.
TRANSPORTATION DESIGN IS... | IED TORINO
In a rapidly changing world, the Transportation Designer is a multifaceted and constantly evolving professional figure, whose competence implies continuous research and a deep understanding of the social and psychological mechanisms related to the concept of transport and vehicle.
SUZUKI MISANO – La Dolce Vita X Way of Life
The European Institute of Design presents Misano, the new concept vehicle designed in collaboration with Suzuki.
Discover some projects of the Transportation Design students
TRACY
TOMO
SHIWA
Shiwa is the new show car designed by the Master in Transportation Design in collaboration with Quattroruote and was presented in world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on the Quattroruote stand.
FERRARI WORLD DESIGN CONTEST
AUGMENTED REALITY WORKSHOP
Watch the video of the Transportation Design Augmented Reality workshop held during the exhibition organised in occasion of IED 50th anniversary, at the Triennale di Milano. A stimulating and inspiring world of technological experimentation for future designers.