Cars are more than just vehicles to the British marque's creative director of exterior design.
Not many can describe cars with as much ardour as Aston Martin’s creative director of exterior design, Miles Nurnberger. Automotives are hardly as romantic as they are functional, but to the designer, they are a personification of people.
“A designer’s job most of the time is to put a feeling into shape,” he shares. “The DB11, for example, is a British gentleman—he holds his nose slightly high, and the crisp line on the back of the car is almost like the coat tails of an Eton boy.”
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Asked what he would do if he wasn’t designing cars, Nurnberger is almost certain that he would still go into art or design. “I’d love to be involved with music, but I’m useless! And I probably wouldn’t be racing because I’m not talented enough,” he muses. “Architecture is where I think I would have ended up.”
We find out more about his inspirations, affinity for design, and future plans for the British marque.
What attracts you most about a car’s design?
Miles Nurnberger (MN) I think most people would say it's the face of a car, because you relate to it. That’s why I think cars are an emotional purchase—because they always have this sort of human quality about its face. From a designer’s point of view, however, I would say it’s the silhouette of a car.
Have you ever made an impulsive purchase?
MN I came very close to buying a really strange car called the Alfa Romeo SZ. It was done in the 80s and actually known for being ugly, but I love it because you can see that it was designed by a single person so it’s more like a piece of art. It was a car with a very single vision of what an Alfa Romeo could be. I think there is a lot of design in the world that is trying to please too many people, but good design is about being self-confident and giving a message.
What is your approach to design?
MN Start from a clean slate and understand the ‘why’ of doing something. Don’t just take what was there before—because it was probably designed for a different era. Like the SUV segment, it’s not just that they’re big and you sit high—it’s there because people want to be protected and they also love the idea of escapism. It’s the same with any piece of design—understanding the human desire behind that.
That’s a romantic way to describe SUVs.
MN It is though, there is a romance to it! It’s escapism, the idea that you’re stuck in traffic but it looks like you’re going somewhere interesting. There’s something about SUVs that makes you feel like your life is more exciting. And GT cars—if you take the Aston Martin—were really romantic because there was this notion of travelling across continents.