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Paulo

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Interviews med Paulo

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Designerinterview

13 spørgsmål

My earliest memories are of a boy who could barely walk but was already gripping a crayon tightly. According to my family, I began making my first recognizable drawings at just two years old—an elephant, to be exact.

Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?

My earliest memories are of a boy who could barely walk but was already gripping a crayon tightly. According to my family, I began making my first recognizable drawings at just two years old—an elephant, to be exact. From that moment on, I became obsessed with translating ideas onto paper. I started with comic book characters, then moved on to cars. But what truly shaped my problem-solving mindset wasn’t just drawing—it was my first LEGO sets. Building things from random blocks (I rarely followed the instructions as a child) exponentially boosted my creativity. Since then, I’ve been more focused on creating solutions I can visualize on paper rather than simply crafting beautiful designs.

Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

My company offers the opportunity to explore uncharted paths in innovation, by applying Design Thinking methodology developed at Stanford University—a proven approach to accelerating the creation of user-centered products.

However, with over 20 years of experience, we’ve evolved this framework by integrating radical perspective-shifting techniques, ensuring our solutions bring a strong competitive edge to the final design.

What is "design" for you?

Keeping a future-oriented mindset is becoming increasingly difficult, as the future seems to arrive faster—and with greater uncertainty.

Design is a teaser of the future — an ability to shape what’s to come into an object that is ahead of its time.

What kinds of works do you like designing most?

I enjoy disrupting the status quo of everyday objects, while enhancing key aspects of their usability.

Whether it’s an electric car with a groundbreaking battery-swapping system, a motorcycle that supports multiple energy modules —from combustion to hydrogen — or even a simple power drill that makes its owner feels like a NASA engineer, thanks to its design and embedded technology.

What excites me most is the challenge of delivering something truly new.

What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?

My most favorite design is always the latest one. Right now, I'm re-imagining the front and rear of a new hypercar brand, using this chance to take a product that’s over six years in the making and push it ten years into the future.

What was the first thing you designed for a company?

It was the Interior of an Italian sport scar brand.

What is your favorite material / platform / technology?

I'm impressed with AI tools that can take my sketched and doodles and turn into infinite variations of design and CMF so I can choose the best fit.

When do you feel the most creative?

Right before bed, I feel that I can solve any problem I may have missed during the day

Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

The silhouette. The human brain instinctively processes outlines before it perceives color, texture, or detail. It's the first visual cue our neural networks use to classify an object.

The silhouette defines the soul and stance of a design; it conveys power, intent, and identity at a glance.

What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?

Every new project begins with excitement, a surge of adrenaline of stepping into a sci-fi journey. What follows is a mix of struggle and discovery: moments of frustration as challenges arise, followed by the thrill of 'aha' moments when solutions appear.

What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?

It’s a deeply fulfilling process—watching raw ideas evolve, take form, and become a refined, tangible object

What makes a design successful?

It's when vision meets user needs.

When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?

The message. I first look at the clarity of the design’s intent—both emotional and functional. A single object doesn’t need to solve every problem, but it must solve at least one exceptionally well—even if its purpose is purely decorative.

Stort Interview

Vixen Elektrisk Sportssæt Bil · 10 spørgsmål

I was always fascinated by racing stripes on performance cars. The most common approach is to apply stripes along the car’s length, but there are also versions that cross the width of the car, especially among American…

Your innovative integration of a customizable LED screen within the hood of the Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car challenges traditional automotive aesthetics - could you elaborate on how this fusion of digital display technology and classic sports car design elements came about?

I was always fascinated by racing stripes on performance cars. The most common approach is to apply stripes along the car’s length, but there are also versions that cross the width of the car, especially among American muscle cars.Although my intention was to bring a vintage feel to the design, I believe that if your goal is to create a truly relevant product for today’s market, you must embrace the most advanced technology—especially in a fully electric concept. Thus came the fusion between a stripe and a screen.I called it the “Meta Display” — a screen that visually “cuts” through the car’s body like a racing stripe. The Vixen’s Meta Display expresses its racing soul from afar, while up close it reveals cutting-edge technology that powers this racing machine.

The Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car's unique battery swap system through the side of the vehicle represents a fascinating approach to electric vehicle charging - what inspired this particular configuration and how does it enhance the overall user experience?

The Vixen was designed as a track-day sports car. Circuits are its natural habitat—competing and breaking records is what it was built for. However, every car has a limited energy source. Internal combustion race cars can refuel within seconds using the pit-stop refueling system. Electric race cars, on the other hand, cannot recharge that fast—at least not yet.The VWAP system was created to address this challenge. Whenever the Vixen’s battery is running low, it takes only a few seconds to swap in a fully charged battery pack. Thanks to the placement of the Vixen’s battery module, the pack can easily slide out sideways, allowing for quick and safe battery replacement.The battery tower, which collects, stores, and delivers the packs, eliminates the need for complex underground installations and is compact enough to be mobile. The driver can even spot it from a distance and prepare the system for the swap.

Your decision to base production of the Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car in Georgia, leveraging its position between East and West, reflects a thoughtful approach to sustainable manufacturing - how did this strategic location choice influence the overall design and development process?

Throughout the automotive industry’s history, factories have profoundly influenced their surroundings — shaping cities and communities that grow and thrive around them. Automotive projects also force you to look 10 years ahead, since the journey from concept to production takes many years.We know of the efforts to revive the Silk Road trade corridor through the “Silk Road Initiative,” and Georgia lies strategically along this route. Establishing a factory that brings value and jobs to a smaller country like Georgia is not only a way to generate prosperity outside the already saturated European and U.S. markets but also a powerful opportunity to reach any global market, thanks to its strategic position between East and West

The Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car's distinctive blend of 1960s racing heritage with cutting-edge technology creates an intriguing aesthetic dialogue - could you share your philosophy behind merging these seemingly contrasting design languages?

Every racing enthusiast shares a passion for motorsport history. Everyone loves visiting museums filled with classic race cars and reading about the great champions of the 20th century. It’s a bittersweet feeling, knowing how dangerous and unreliable those early machines were.Rather than trying to imagine what a futuristic electric race car might look like, I chose to recapture the spirit of vintage racing machines, allowing us to experience the thrill of that era—but with the latest technology ensuring a reliable and safe electric performance.

The aerodynamic elements of the Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car, particularly the spoilers and wings near the tires, demonstrate careful attention to performance - how did you balance these technical requirements with the overall aesthetic vision?

As mentioned earlier, when drawing inspiration from 1960s race cars, one must be cautious with their aerodynamic features. At that time, car bodies were shaped almost like boats—while their voluptuous curves helped cut through the air, downforce was virtually nonexistent.To balance the 1960s’ sculpted aesthetics with modern aerodynamic performance, I found it necessary to integrate strategic carbon-fiber aero wings to efficiently manage airflow, especially around the exposed wheels. Additionally, I incorporated active rear spoilers that automatically adjust—working opposite to conventional spoilers by opening inward to balance the air turbulence generated by the rear wheels.In essence, most of the car’s aerodynamic performance is actively controlled beneath the body, rather than above it.

The Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car's inductive charging system with autonomous positioning capabilities represents a significant innovation - what were the key challenges in developing this sophisticated charging solution?

The Vixen Inductive Charging Pad activates when the car is parked—either at home or in pit boxes at the circuit. The goal was to eliminate charging cables entirely and remove the hassle of plugging in—making charging as automatic and seamless as possible.To achieve this, the car would require a semi-autonomous parking system, already seen in several production vehicles today. Once the driver presses the “Charging Pad Route” button, the system takes over, using cameras and sensors to carefully guide the car into position—parking it so the nose gently touches the pad. At that point, the front (or the rear) charging receptors automatically open, exposing the conductive surfaces just an inch from the pad and initiating wireless inductive charging.

The compact dimensions and wide track width of the Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car suggest a focus on handling dynamics - how did these proportional choices influence the overall design development?

Acceleration in an electric race car is instant and extremely powerful, demanding special attention to traction and stability. While a good portion of grip relies on the right tires, a wide body significantly enhances high-speed cornering performance and ensures stable, predictable handling at the limit.

The Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car's modular kit car concept opens interesting possibilities for customization and assembly - what considerations guided your approach to making this complex vehicle accessible to kit car enthusiasts?

The automotive world will be more transformed by electrification than most people realize. Even without considering the breakthroughs in battery power, size, and weight, there’s another revolution underway—the simplification of the automotive architecture.Electric powertrains are far simpler than the most advanced internal combustion engines. Motors are becoming smaller, lighter, cheaper, and accessible to virtually anyone interested in building a race machine. This means that, before long, anyone with a garage might be able to build their own car.Electrification and the modularization of electric components will give rise to a new world of interchangeable parts—allowing infinite configurations of vehicles, much like LEGO bricks let you break the rules and create beyond the manual.That’s why I chose to integrate the Meta Display and Battery Module within the same central block—essentially splitting the car into two main sections. This layout not only optimizes weight distribution between the axles but also opens possibilities for future modular platforms, adaptable to entirely different vehicle concepts.

The integration of NFT display capabilities in the Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car's hood screen suggests a forward-thinking approach to vehicle personalization - how do you envision this feature evolving with changing digital trends?

We are living through a major technological transition—between physical and digital realities, tangible assets and crypto assets. Soon, there will be interfaces seamlessly bridging both worlds.Offering a display not inside the car but outside it, facing the public, was intentional —a way to enhance self-expression, much like a tattoo. This screen is incredibly versatile: it can serve as an artistic canvas, a race identifier, or even a dynamic advertising surface displaying content during drives.Affluent users might even showcase their digital art or NFTs, using them as badges on their vehicles at races or collector events. The possibilities are endless for such a canvas in a world increasingly shaped by influencers and digital creators.

The oval-shaped roof design of the Vixen Electric Sports Kit Car accommodates helmeted drivers while maintaining aesthetic appeal - could you discuss how this specific design challenge led to innovative solutions in the overall vehicle architecture?

From the very beginning, the cockpit design was intended to resemble an aircraft canopy. The V-shaped roof embodies aerodynamic simplicity—merging aerospace inspiration with 1960s Le Mans race car design. Both traditions required drivers or pilots to wear helmets, so it was only natural to apply the same concept to the Vixen’s roof, ensuring it accommodates helmeted drivers while maintaining that pure, purposeful silhouette.

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Designinterviewdataene vist på vores designinterviewside med designeren Paulo vedrørende værket Vixen Elektrisk Sportssæt Bil kommer fra platformen Design Interviews, hvor førende designere, arkitekter og brands interviewes om deres prisvindende designs, produkter og projekter.