For Pininfarina Extra, industrial design means using the most advanced aspects of scientific and engineering research, in combination with the aesthetic dimension that we see in everyday products. Man and his needs are set at the center of a design philosophy whose cornerstone is an elegant, essential style.

Pininfarina Extra designers must be capable of comprehending the continuous evolution of modern life, interpreting different cultures and social paradigms, and it is for this reason that Pininfarina Extra employs an international team where Italian designers work alongside designers from the rest of the world.

The Pininfarina Extra Process

The Pininfarina Extra design process starts off with the research and analysis phase, which aims to define user needs and the target market, identify the competition and the available resources and technology, and above all to study the identity of the client depth.

Then it comes the concept phase, the real creative part of the process, where ideas, opportunities and innovative concepts are born.

Paolo Trevisan, Chief Designer at Pininfarina Extra explains: “Every project starts with a 3D model in order to understand feasibility as well as technical limits or constraints that come from the customer. It is in this phase that Evolve comes into play. “In this early phase of the project”, says Francesco Lovo, Research and Development Director, “it is quite fundamental to be able to modify quickly and effectively the original shape that you have been generating and tune the details and functionality of the object.”

“Evolve is a beautiful product. It allows us to explore in real time possible shapes for the object” adds Piero Pifferi, Designer.

“The optimization technology coming with Inspire is another interesting tool that we can use for developing new ideas – a new way of generating design, generating shapes, generating concepts” Lovo continues. “This is quite interesting since it helps designers to explore lines and design strategies differently than the things they usually do.”

The design phase is about defining the idea and turning it into reality, by means of renderings and research activities which run alongside the creative work, determining the effective feasibility of the project. Paolo Trevisan explains: “We use the 3D not only to see the technical issues but to give the client the final impressions using high quality photorealistic rendering”.

The engineering is the stage when all the parts and components of the object are defined, both in terms of size and technology. The most suitable materials are selected and the construction of the product is planned according to its specifications, the real guidelines of the project.

With prototyping the object goes from virtual to real. Before entering production, final checks are carried out by creating models of the right size and style, aimed at checking out the aesthetics and ergonomics of the product, and working, pre-production prototypes are created to simulate the structural components of the product.

Finally, the communication strategy for launching the new object onto the market is determined. For each project, a specific strategy is created from the product brochure to the advertising campaign to event organization.

The Pininfarina Extra process evidences what styling means today: not just the external embellishment of a function, rather an aesthetic and functional solution for collective and individual needs, representing lasting values and performance.