Greetings, DVN readers. This week, we’ve really got something special for you: a totally exclusive interview with Audi’s head of styling Stefan Sielaff. He explains how he strives to instill a whole car’s design language into its lighting components, to underline and define the character of Audi cars. A brand signature realised or reinforced with lighting equipment is particularly striking and noticeable due to its night and day design (lights on and off), its colour and, increasingly, its depth and texture aspects; Sielaff is exceedingly adept at leveraging the power of lighting to underline its technical content and advertise, by extension, the technical sophistication of the car and its maker. Sielaff says this strategy has helped Audi become the innovation leader in lighting, and hints at great surprises in store for the future.
Don’t miss the full interview! It summarises the common target at which all lighting players aim. In my view and experience, lighting has to be first and foremost about safety performance…but the future of lighting is about styling. I kindly suggest reading and rereading this week’s interview after reading our previous interview with Volvo designer Malte Mößner. By absorbing, comparing, and pondering these lighting designers’ approaches and philosophy, we all gain fresh perspective on our common goals and the many ways to meet them.
Sincerely yours