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41 Ford's Interior Design Mindset u The interior of the new Ford GT. According to Moray Callum, head of Ford Design, there were three fundamental principles applied to developing the interior: (1) clarity of intent, (2) innovation and (3) connection. Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development, acknow- ledges something that isn't often heard from automotive executives: A reason why a customer might NOT buy a given car or truck. It turns out that interior design is one of the top-three reasons not to buy. So Ford is making considerable efort to improve the design of its interiors. This isn't merely a case of upping the ante on improving infotainment and providing better materials, but of doing a seriously deep dive into how customers perceive interiors. They are conducting extensive biometric research, Nair says, so that they are able to determine emotional responses (yes, people are wired in the white-on-white interior [so as not to let color infuence their perceptions]). They are doing eye tracking to determine what drivers spend most of their time looking at—or not—and what sequence things are looked at. This information, he explains, can then be used to provide an interior that is not only visually attractive, but something that is functional for the driver and passengers in the vehicle. It can be used to provide an interior that may be a reason to buy. Of course, this science is tempered with the art of design. And Moray Callum, Ford vice presi- dent of Design, says that Ford designers—interior designers in this case, but he says it is similarly applicable to exterior designers, as well—are working with "three fundamentals" in mind: • Clarity of intent • Innovation • Connection And taking the new Ford GT as an example of execution of these principles, he says there is another trio of tenants that they try to adhere to: • Fit for purpose • Lean and lightweight • Perceived efciency Clarity of intent and Fit for purpose are somewhat connected inasmuch as they speak to the issue of obvious functionality. Callum says that in the GT they worked to create clearly organized controls, the functions of which are apparent and/or intuitive. Realize that the GT is a car with an engine that produces in excess of 600 hp and that it is designed to drive on the track (as well as on the road), so it needs to be evident of what's what when traveling at speeds well over 100 mph ("All controls are within reach of a fully belted occupant," Callum says, and when he's talking about "fully belted," he's also referring to a race driver.). Innovation and Lean and lightweight come together in the design and structure of the instrument panel. This is a two-level IP that allows structure to be seen as outer surface in some areas. Because of the way the top tier foats, light fows through. And Perceived efciency and Connec- tion, while not necessarily as coordi- nated as the other sets, are aligned in the sense that the driver is able to immediately understand and use what's there. An example of this is the large aluminum shift paddles on each side of the steering wheel. Nair notes that the machined aluminum shapes also have slots milled out. So clearly the paddles are light and ft for form, and they pro- vide a tactile connection with the driver. While the Ford GT is a supercar, one where there was probably less concern with piece-part costs than might otherwise be the case (this is evident simply from a quick survey of the expanses of carbon fber on the interior— functional, but not inexpensive), Callum says that this approach is one that they're taking on every car. And once all of that biometric Big Data comes into play, who knows how advanced even the interior of a Fiesta might be in the years to come.