01/07/2004

Lexus Design Speech
January 7, 2004
Simon Humphries
Group Manager, Global Design Management Division
Toyota Motor Corporation

Hello, my name is Simon Humphries, it is a pleasure to be here today representing Toyota Motor Corporation. I am presently Group Manager for design strategy in relation to brand issues for Lexus and Toyota design.

As you can see I am not Japanese, I was born in England but I have actually spent the last 14 years working as a designer in Japan, about a third of my life.

I mention this as a lot of the things I want to say today are about Japan, so at least you can believe a third of what I say!

I heard that the unofficial theme today is "Design in Luxury," so obviously I have chosen Lexus, and I have tried to gear what I have to say to give you some idea of how we trying to use the power of design to provide Lexus with a unique platform for the future.

Lexus is changing. I hope you have noticed, because if you have not, a lot of our hard work has gone to waste! This change started with the release of the HPX showcar at the New York autoshow in 2003, and was followed with the release of the LFS at the 03 Tokyo show. This week has seen the release of the GS-430 preview here in Detroit. These vehicles all represent important steps for Lexus, and today I would like to take a little time to explain why such changes are taking place.

As you are all aware, Lexus is a young brand. It is almost 15 years to the day that Lexus was released and we started our so called "passionate pursuit of perfection." But the fact of the matter is that we are reaching a juncture where we have to decide exactly what perfection, and really how relevant, the perfection that we are pursuing is. Ultimately there is a limit to how quiet we can make an engine!

The second trigger to this change is the imminent introduction of Lexus into the domestic Japanese market. Here we will have a situation where unlike many other makers who have "bought in" established brands, we have two brands born from the same parent, with a degree of price overlap greater than in other markets.

It has become essential for us to re-clarify exactly what is different between the two brands at both tangible and intangible levels.

So, where should Lexus be heading? Over the last couple of years throughout numerous discussions two words have continuously come up regarding Lexus' past and future. "Leading-edge", and "finesse."

When Lexus was launched the brand was perceived as advanced, forward looking, a new take on luxury, but it also possessed finesse, a certain understatement. Many would say that this understatement is Lexus' weakness, and if left unmanaged it may become so. But on the other hand many see this as a positive attribute, "good taste", or "being in the know." These two factors form the core of Lexus, but at the present time they have become disparate.

The challenge our designers face is not to treat these two terms separately, but rather to work to bring them together without losing the purity of each. For example how to be technologically advanced yet humanized, how to create bold and striking modern design but still be artistic and unpretentious.

The name we gave to this process is "L-finesse" - (the "L" of Leading-edge and finesse), and it forms the core of Lexus' design activities.

To achieve this goal we went back to the beginning. What exactly is the essence of Lexus' luxury?

To explain these I would like to use a simple analogy.

I am the customer, I have just got of the plane, I ask my personal assistant for something to drink. He goes away and comes back with water, beer, milk, orange juice etc., everything I could possibly want, this has to be luxury. But what it says about him, the brand, is that he really no real belief in what luxury is and certainly does not know what mine is.

The flip side is that my assistant comes back with a bottle of champagne. This has to be luxury, the most expensive drink money can buy. What does it say about the brand user relationship, it says that the brand is absolutely sure what its' view of luxury is regardless of what I think.

As you may imagine neither of these scenarios fits Lexus, but there is an alternative.

The third scenario is, just as I am THINKING about asking for something to drink, my assistant places a cup of black coffee, just as I wanted it, in front of me. What this says about the brand is that it is absolutely sure what MY luxury is, it has seamlessly anticipated my desires.

Seamless anticipation forms the basis for the way in which Lexus must portray it's hospitality, and way in which it must interact with the customer. This is essential because it forms the basis for the brand character and defines how the product is positioned in relation to the customer.

It is also important because it is what we call a "J-factor." "J" standing for Japan. Lexus as I mentioned earlier is a young brand and we have made a great effort in design to conform to the "manner" of the "luxury club." But if really want long term success, it is imperative that our future originality is based on something that has its roots in the culture of not only the company, but also the society from which we come. This is not about mimicking a the surface attributes of something Japanese, but rather to look carefully at the sometimes unique ways of thinking that led to them. The challenge is to utilize this in a way that is acceptable on a global level.

Japanese hospitality is based heavily on anticipation. If we take for example the tea ceremony, the tea is the product, but the real value comes from careful anticipation of the customers' feelings and expectations before he reaches the tea house, the mood set by the approach, response to them in the present, simplification of the utensils, and preparation for unforeseen eventualities in the future. The use of seamless anticipation in the tea ceremony enables the building of a complex, personal experience, worth far more than the "product" by itself. And it is this that is a hint to how we can integrate this way of thinking into the product.

Seamless anticipation allows us to personalize the experience, simplify the experience and create a unique experience for the customer.

What this means in real terms is that the car must react according to the situation. For example the use of an electro chromic filter on the meter in the GS allows anticipation of when glare removal is necessary, and reacts according to the situation. Or it may mean something as simple as pinpoint lighting. Pinpoint illumination of certain objects according to the situation of the user. The net result is that the user feels that the vehicle is responding to his/her wishes, in advance, of asking for them.

This way of thinking is not just relevant to us as a company, we also believe it is also relevant to the future affluent customer. The number of affluent people is increasing, and with this increase is coming diversity and change. Affluent users are looking less toward status symbols and more toward experiences and services. Luxury is becoming an internal matter, people want luxury that helps them savor their time, and we believe that "seamless anticipation", forming the basis for the product experience, goes along way to answering this.

Seamless anticipation will form the basis for Lexus' intuitive recognition.

Moving on to more tangible matters, we are in the process of establishing a design language for the Lexus brand.

We have two set phrases to describe and guide Lexus styling. "incisive simplicity" and "intriguing elegance." These relate directly to objectives to create products that are leading-edge, bold, striking but at the same time have an air of mystery and elegance.

Two very simple phrases, but in design terms a very difficult, as achieving such a taste will involve challenging the paradox that simplicity only leads to clinical, mathematical design, and conversely that intriguing design must be complex. The graph illustrates this paradox. In a word Lexus design is attempting to create "intriguing simplicity."

To achieve this we have had to accept a number of things that on the surface seem illogical. Firstly, that simplicity need not be simple.

Simplicity has become a prerequisite in design today, but the fact of the matter is that users are demanding more emotion. However, I see no signs that they wish to return to exaggerated or labored design. If we look to the Japanese aesthetic, we can see that simplicity need not necessarily mean minimal or reduction, but rather that simplicity is there to create contrast in the composition between itself and the focal point. If we accept this, there is a chance to bring together these two seemingly opposing factors into design.

One example of what this might look like is contained within the LFS. The crisp, dry, simple surface of the bonnet contrasts sharply with the intensity and curvaceous nature of the front fender. Seen from the side we can really see how different these two areas are.

The same way of thinking has been carried through to the GS with a very sculptural and emotional fender area, contrasting with the "dry" taste of the bonnet. The result is that we see a dynamic yet intriguing design born from the contrast in surface language, rather than relying solely on exaggeration to create dynamism.

Integration of a wide dynamic range of surface and architectural language into Lexus design is integral to achieving our goals.

This way of thinking applies equally to interior design. The center console area is kept extremely simple. Pure lines, and the use of thin, floating cushions instead of the predictable thick cushioning of "luxury", contrasts with the three dimensional nature of the door trim. Interestingly, the thinness of the padding is carried over to the door trim, but is wrapped into a very interesting form.

Contrast has also been incorporated into the details of the vehicle. The contrast between the larger inside radii compared to the pinpoint outside radius sharpens the overall image, but does not detract from the depth of the form.

We can even see contrast being used to accentuate the speed of the line or curve, as in the upper corner of the window graphic. It almost appears as if the window graphic has been drawn with a paint brush where the line thickness varies according to pressure.

All these examples work together to retain the overall simplicity but introduce an element of mystery or artistry into the design.

Secondly, we are actively looking for a new type of balance for Lexus.

In the GS, the clean arch of the cabin line works to keep the visual image simple, but it also complements the unique long cabin look of the GS. The GS' cabin is lengthened pushed well back over the rear wheels. This distinct proportion has been with us since the first generation GS and is quite different to the standard rear wheel drive, small cabin look.

It has come to the point where we have a proportion of 1 to 1 when comparing the front wheel to windscreen dimension and the rear wheel to trunk. (A standard rear wheel proportion would be about 2:1). This uniqueness has also allowed us to create a new interior feeling, one of roominess without losing the snugness so necessary for a driver's car.

Dropping the grille of the LFS in relation to the headlights continues a trend in Lexus toward a more personal dynamic feeling. The GS continues this, creating a new balance in the front of the vehicle, and going against the preconception that a luxury vehicle must have horizontal grille, headlight layout.

Creation of a balance that goes against what is accepted or what seems natural, is essential in creating something that can invigorate and fascinate, yet remain inherently simple.

The third and final point is the integration of time into design. This in many ways is the most important point for Lexus as it relates directly to the building of an experience through design.

The use of long integrated lines plays an important role in simplifying form, and at the same time requires the observer to spend a certain amount of time to "read" the shape. We want the shape to lead the viewer into changing his/her position in relation to the vehicle. In this way time becomes a necessity in order to understand the total form of the vehicle.

The integration of the time factor into the Lexus design language an essential part of fusing together simplicity and depth.

The wrap round surface from the side of the LFS all the way to the rear virtually eliminates the rear corner of the vehicles. It offers another example of how simplicity can become intriguing.

Even such insignificant items such as the opening of an ashtray or a cup-holder share a consistency of movement that is intended to hold the users attention, so that time becomes irrelevant. Speed is more than for the sake of efficiency.

Finally, as in the case of the original optitron, we can use time in design to create situations that turn the mundane tasks that we have to sit through everyday, into fascinating experiences.

The optitron of the original LS uses the contrast of the white needles seemingly floating in a black void, coupled with the delayed reaction over time to add an intriguing feeling to its form. Here we see almost everything that we are striving for in Lexus' future is actually present in its' past. Simplicity, an air of mystery, high technology which has been humanized, contrast, and the creation of a unique experience.

The role of the designer is changing, we believe design is becoming a 4 dimensional and at Lexus we feel ready to take on these challenges to create an entirely new type of luxury experience.

Thank you for your attention.