Among the products that could be born from Nissan's design study in Latin America could include exercise bikes, house lamps, speakers, humidifiers, footwear and exterior design, among others. (Supplied)
Nissan will be looking “out of the box” for years to come in Latin America. In an extremely aggressive move and with a view to disrupting the design business in the region, the Nissan Design Latin America division announced that they will begin work on solutions in areas such as product design, spatial, mobility and visual communication. In this way, they will become the first design center of an automobile manufacturer to provide this type of service in Latin America.
John Anthony Sahs, chief designer of Nissan Latin America. (Pedro Danthas)
The information was given by John Anthony Sahs , chief designer of Nissan Latin America, during a virtual round table in which they reported on the company's global transformation plan, Nissan NEXT, as well as gave a tour of the facilities located in Sao Paulo, Brazil , and which is known as “The Box” (“The box”) .
“The challenge of this project is to find clients who are looking for artistic creations, coming from a studio known for automotive design. I am excited to receive this challenge and to spread the DNA of Nissan in other sectors, ” said Sahs, who during his career has participated in the design of models such as the Nissan Cube and Nissan Titan. “It is a great opportunity to make a positive difference in society and in the Latin American region.”
In this new phase, Nissan Design Latin America will use all the skills of design, technology and Japanese DNA to serve the external public. Products that could be born from the design study could include stationary exercise bikes, house lamps, speakers, humidifiers, footwear, exterior design and creation of exhibition spaces, among many others. In the same way, they will also focus on the design of elements for the mobility of people in large cities, such as bicycles, one-person vehicles, mass transport vehicles, even drones created to move people from one point to another.
“What we seek with all this is to improve and enrich the lives of consumers,” added Sahs. “And we are doing it from the point of view from the Latin culture, where we find a great amalgam of panoramas and different points of view. All this enriches the designs and solutions that we will offer to our clients ” .
At the moment, the designers of Nissan Design Latin America are already working on several private projects, but due to confidentiality agreements, it cannot reveal what they are about.
Area where designers work at the Nissan Design Latin America facilities, located in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
On the other hand, the design center has generated alliances with educational institutions to contribute to the development of future generations, through an exchange of experiences with a focus on diversity and good practices within and outside the automotive industry. This includes alliances with the European Institute of Design (IED), with offices in Spain, Italy and Brazil, and also with the Mauá Institute of Technology, based in Sao Paulo, to create new projects for students to come up with new ideas, not only for Nissan, but also for other customers.
Multicultural team
Nissan's Latin American design team is led by Vietnam-born but US-raised Sahs, who assumed responsibility for the brand's design in the region in July 2018, after spending 20 years at Nissan headquarters. in Japan. The team is also made up of multicultural professionals with experience in all areas of design , ensuring not only diversity, but also the knowledge necessary to develop the new scope of projects.
According to the automotive company, Nissan's design studio in Latin America is a sample of the regional team's potential to unify and translate Latin American culture and Japanese minimalism, present not only in the objects created, but also in the context behind them, motivation to create, inspiration and execution. This project, launched by the company, also reflects creative capacity and generates enthusiasm and lasting connections with customers and consumers, providing closer and unique experiences with the brand.
