Coventry University’s National Transport Design Centre (NTDC) launched last night (Thursday 25 May 2017) with the unveiling of a mural – entitled ‘Movement’ – created by Jaguar’s director of design Ian Callum.
The mural marks the NTDC opening, and Callum’s 17m x 10m work of art highlights the importance of considering all elements of transport design. It has been inspired by the ‘flow’ of an object through air and represents the movement of a vehicle carrying people.
Racing driver and former model Jodie Kidd also spoke at the launch and shared stories from her varied career through an interactive discussion with the audience of industry professionals.
Ian Callum, Jaguar’s director of design said:
“The main objective of transport design is to make people’s lives better and more enjoyable: Don’t just focus on your element but be very aware of all the elements of transportation and how people move all around the world.”
Ian Callum’s involvement with the NTDC and WMCU member Coventry University is set to continue as he was awarded a visiting Professorship by Professor John Latham, Vice-Chancellor at Coventry University. Ian has highlighted the importance of working with younger people because these freer-thinking designers can bring fresh approaches to all elements of transport design.
He continued:
“It’s very important that those in the industry work with students – we can bring experience and their clearer minds work in a different way that can often lead to moments of brilliance.”
The celebrated mural can be viewed on the West wall of the National Transport Design Centre, located on Coventry’s Technology Park on Puma Way. The NTDC was officially opened on 25 May 2017, and covers all forms of transport design from automotive and rail, through to marine and aerospace, and provides a key link between design and manufacturing.