Advice from a Car Designer Experienced in the US, Germany, and China: "Take on Challenges"

Interview with Korean Designer Taehho Yoon Participating in the Bentley Batur Project

"I believe that not being afraid and always challenging yourself is the most important thing."

Yoon Tae-ho, a designer, being interviewed at the Heritage Garage located at Bentley Motors headquarters. Photo by Bentley Motors

This is what designer Yoon Tae-ho said when we met last month at Bentley Motors headquarters in the UK. His career, spanning global automakers and continents, caught attention. He studied at the ArtCenter College of Design in the United States. Afterwards, he worked at Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam, Germany, and the Advanced Design Team at Mercedes-Benz in China, and since August two years ago, he has been working as an Exterior Design Specialist at Bentley. The cultures he has experienced in Asia, America, and Europe are all different.

Challenging himself while moving through different cultural zones was a significant burden even for designer Yoon. He described it as 'fearful.' Nevertheless, he advised that one must actively challenge themselves to go to the company they want to join.

The attitude of not being afraid has been quite helpful in his work. Applying experiences from companies with different characteristics makes explanations easier and helps himself understand better. He said, "When I first studied, my English was not good, so I was afraid, and every time I moved to a new place, the culture was different, making adaptation difficult. But this actually becomes an advantage I can talk about with people."

Heritage Garage located at Bentley Motors headquarters. Photo by Bentley Motors

His dream of becoming a car designer was inspired by the TV drama "Asphalt Man" he watched as a child. He said, "It was a story about car designers, and it made a strong impression on me at the time. It wasn’t a dramatic story, but from then on, I dreamed of becoming a car designer."

He named Lee Sang-yup, Vice President and Head of Hyundai Design Center, as the designer who gave him the greatest inspiration. He said, "Among Koreans, designer Lee Sang-yup is my role model. When I started my career as an exterior designer as an intern at Volkswagen Design Center in California, he was my first boss. His designs and career always amazed and inspired me."

He came to Bentley because it was his childhood goal. He saw it as an "attractive brand" with strong heritage and no incongruity when attaching words like luxury, sports, or modern to its design. Especially, the first-generation Continental GT had a big influence. He explained, "When I just started studying car design, I saw the first-generation Continental GT for the first time and completely fell in love. This vehicle greatly influenced my vision of car design."

Designer Yoon Tae-ho. Photo by Bentley Motors

In a way, the biggest advantage he feels working as a designer at Bentley, having achieved his dream, is the fast feedback. He said, "Because the company is not very large, board members come directly to give advice and feedback, allowing quick revisions on many matters, which is the biggest advantage." He added, "At other places, parts had to be given up due to costs, but at Bentley, as much as possible is allowed, so from a designer’s perspective, it’s a good company."

He also explained the recently completed Batur project. Batur is the second model of Bentley’s bespoke brand Mulliner, first unveiled last year. Following Bacalar, introduced in 2020, only 18 units were produced worldwide. Unlike long-term car design projects, this one was completed quickly, which was unusual. He emphasized, "Usually, car design projects take 3 to 5 years, but this was done in about a year. Since it was a limited production and based on the Continental GT, there was little room for intervention."

Currently, he is focusing on electric vehicles. Bentley plans to unveil its first electric vehicle in 2025 and start sales in 2026. He described electric vehicles as a ‘challenge’ at the company level. Yoon said, "The new electric vehicle will have a design that will surprise people. Looking at Bentley Batur, you can get hints about the electric vehicle."

The second model of Mulliner, Bentley's bespoke brand, the 'Batur'. Photo by Bentley Motors

He explained that he wants to create cars at Bentley that will be loved even as time passes. He said, "Other cars are scrapped after 20 years, but all Bentley cars become classics after 20 years." He continued, "Personally, I want to complete a design that is most Bentley-like yet never seen before. My dream is to design a new classic for the next 20 years."

Finally, he expressed his goal to become someone who can inspire young designers. Yoon said, "My goal is to design the best cars. Starting my career at Bentley, one of the best car companies, I think I have come closer to that goal." He added, "In the future, I want to be a designer who can give great inspiration to young designers and students."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.