Design is one of the decisive factors for the success of a car.

Before you sit in the driving seat and start the engine for an enjoyable driving experience, the exterior and interior provide the first impressions of the model and may play a crucial role in your decision to go through with the purchase.

During Auto Shanghai 2011, the car show held in Shanghai last month, visitors were treated to a lot of great designs that were both inspiring and fancy.

Shanghai Daily speaks to three auto designers, each of them coming from different market segments, to discover their view of car design.

Topics include the opportunities and challenges for young but experienced Chinese car designers and the influence of Chinese tastes in modern car design. Particularly, they offer prospects of a possible future trend in auto design that will help everyone to visualize their own dream car. Chinese designs on luxury brand

I am probably the first Chinese car designer who works for an international brand without experiences working and studying abroad," said Zhang Fan, 37, who has been working for Mercedes-Benz for eight years.

He got the job after finishing a master's degree in Industry Design in Beijing's Tsinghua University and after winning an award in the Auto-Motor and Sport International Design Competition in Stuttgart in 2002 for a Chinese vehicle design he called East Scene.

In Zhang's words, his understanding of Chinese culture and his insights into the mentality of Chinese consumers have helped him immensely in his professional career.

"In 2002, the car market in China was far less dynamic than what it is today, but Benz somehow sensed the prospects of China," said Zhang. "I think it's my presentation of Chinese elements that has caught their attention during that competition."

Intangible aspects

Zhang's latest work, Mercedes-Benz Concept A-Class, had its world premier at the Shanghai Auto Show in April. Even though Chinese elements are not explicit in Zhang's design, he said it is important to consider the more intangible aspects of what Chinese consumers want.

"When you are designing cars for a brand like Mercedes-Benz, you know the customers are expecting the final cars to look more German than anything else," said Zhang. "But saying that, there are things you do have to take into account when applying that concept to a different market."

For instance, putting coffee cup holders in the interior is always a must for the American market, while having enough leg room is always a big thing for the Chinese, according to Zhang.

"In China, cars are largely related with the status and image of the owners," he said. "They have meaning beyond just a tool for transport. Chinese customers care about the image of the car most."

He said that because of that focus, sedans were and still are preferred in China. For the same reason, Chinese customers prefer cars with lots of leg-room, though they themselves are not particularly large.

"These are all based on psychological considerations rather than on functionality," he added.

With China now the world's biggest car market, Zhang said he expects to see more foreign car makers employing Chinese designers. That means unprecedented opportunities and challenges for Zhang and his counterparts.

"Eventually, China will become the biggest car design battlefield in the industry," Zhang said. "There is still a lot of market potential yet to be released. I hope Chinese car makers are well prepared for the whole world coming to their doorstep. "

Zhang said he has never worked for a domestic auto maker in China, but from friends and the media, he is aware of some problems confronting the Chinese domestic car industry.

In big foreign car companies, the design process is part of a big, complicated machine. There are designers, modelers, engineers and project managers. The machine requires each part to do its own function for the smooth operation of the whole, Zhang said.

The domestic car industry has yet to fully grasp that seamless process.

"Some managers think that once they have hired designers, the designers will not only produce the designs but also turn them into production," Zhang said. "The truth is that, without a proper system, designers' ideas can never get through to the production process with the original pulse and high-design quality."

China's design courses focus too much on theories rather than the real practice of designing, he said.

"A new idea is merely the beginning of design," Zhang explained. "When you have an idea, you need to refine and improve it once and once again. You cannot rely too much on computers. They are just a tool, like a pencil or tape."

He said a good designer also needs to be receptive to the opinions of other people and to be able to work well in a team.

Artistic sculpture

Zhang is currently working on two other production cars -- a sports car and a hatchback -- that will come to market in the next year. Looking ahead, he describes car design as focused on "artistic, emotional, and green."

Zhang added, "We are on a road to developing cars as though they were artistic sculpture. We want to impress consumers with subtle lines, surfaces and different shades of light."

He said he browses other design categories, such as architecture, fashion and furniture, to collect ideas about popular culture and how designers adapt it.

"We want the look of a car to excite the hearts of customers in a psychologically satisfying way," Zhang said.

Last but not least, there's the environment to consider.

"Luxury cars are always excessively equipped with many functioning parts, gadgets, advanced materials and trim to indulge the wildest desire of customers," Zhang said. "Only the context is changing."

That context, he said, is environmental protection.

"As non-renewable energy resources begin running out, going green is already becoming the focus of the car industry," Zhang said. "How to realize this and make it work with style and taste is the focus or the challenge of my work." Zhang Fan

Born in 1975 in Sichuan Province, Zhang got his bachelor's degree in Industrial Design at Tongji University. He then pursued a master's degree in Industrial Design with a focus on transportation design at Tsinghua University, Beijing.

His entry for the Auto-Motor and Sport International Design Competition was well received and he was offered a job with the Mercedes-Benz Car Group, Daimler AG Germany, as an exterior designer.

Over the last eight years, Zhang has been working on many Mercedes car projects and two production cars that bear his own design will enter the market in the coming year. Knowing native car needs

As the chief designer of Shanghai Volkswagen, Volkswagen's joint venture in China, Cai Qian has been guiding the German car maker to a better understanding of what Chinese consumers want when they get behind the wheel.

In fact, the sheer size of the world's largest auto market puts China in the driver's seat where design is concerned.

"With the rapid development of China's auto industry, Chinese tastes are receiving more attention and increasingly influencing the design of cars," said Cai.

Through the launch of models such as the new Passat Lingyu, new Polo and Lavida, one sees how Shanghai Volkswagen Design has helped meld Volkswagen's "Design DNA" with iconic Chinese characteristics.

Cai joined Shanghai Volkswagen after he graduated from college in 1996. Now, he is chief designer and head of the Shanghai Volkswagen technical center's design departmentoverseeing the design work on all Shanghai Volkswagen VW and Skoda brand models.

The latest masterpiece is the new Passat sedan, which premiered at the recent Auto Shanghai 2011 show. The model, which is jointly developed by SVW and VW, drew the efforts of 1,800 engineers, 20 of whom were from SVW.

Cai said the new Passat reflects the new design DNA of Volkswagen, which is styled to be elegance, balance and precision. "The preference of Chinese consumers was also taken into consideration and showcased in a lot of details," he added.

According to him, the improved proportion of the new Passat not only makes the car look bigger and costlier in its mid-to-high class segment but also more functional.

The grill work, which stands more upright for a more elegant look, reflects Chinese taste, as do the wheels which have more spokes to give movement a more dynamic appearance.

Inside, the new Passat pays more attention to the combination of different materials such as peach wood accompanying chromium plating.

According to Cai, Chinese consumers prefer cars that are grand but retain elegance - a combination that expresses social status with subtlety.

Unlike Western consumers who have strong brand loyalty and consider classic styling as part of the brand essence, Chinese customers are keen for designs that are new and embrace the latest technology.

"For a fast-growing market like China, we need to create freshness in design and keep surprising them," Cai said.

"But you can't just change design willy-nilly. Good styling reinforces the design concept of a brand and strengthens its impression among consumers without losing its origins."

Shanghai Volkswagen's styling heritage dates back to the late 1990s, when Cai participated in the styling work on the Chinese version of the Passat B5 sedan.

Over the following years, Cai has taken charge of the design work for the Lavida mid-class sedan and new Passat Lingyu, helping to build the design philosophy of SVW.

Cai is now leading a design team of 50 - people he calls young innovators.

Vehicle design has been changing rapidly over the past few years partly because of the need for eye-catching designs to raise the eyebrows of consumers amid furious market competition.

The design work also needs to fit in with the company strategy which requires the shortest development period, the lowest risks and the highest efficiency in the development of new models.

Cai stressed that there is always conflict between the design as well as engineering difficulties and as a good designer, finding the balance is necessary.

"Maybe 99 percent of our design ideals could never be finally adopted, but you have to deal with it. Design is all about selection and making improvements." Cai Qian

Cai is chief designer and head of the Shanghai Volkswagen technical center's design department, taking charge of all Shanghai Volkswagen VW and Skoda brand product design. After graduating in 1996, he joined Shanghai Volkswagen as a designer and participated in the styling work of the Chinese-version Passat. From 1998 to 2001, he took part in an automobile design development, training and practice program in Volkswagen's Wolfsburg Design Center in Germany for three years.

Since he returned to China, he has been responsible for the design of many of Volkswagen Shanghai's models, using a strategy integrating a Chinese consumer's aesthetic. Sporty new image for British classic

Honoring tradition while following new trends has always been a challenge to iconic car companies like 87-year-old, British-born MG.

The auto industry in that time has undergone dramatic changes. MG was taken over by Rover and then MG Rover was ultimately bought by Nanjing Automobile group, which in turn was merged into Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.

So it's something of a challenge for Anthony Williams-Kenny, SAIC's director for global design, to be given the job of redefining the classic MG sports car in the framework of Chinese consumers.

Williams-Kenny joined the MG Rover Group in 2000 and formed a UK design team from scratch in 2005. The team, whose average age is below 40, has presided over the development of a new generation of MG models, including the latest MG 5.

The global debut of the MG 5 at this year's Shanghai Auto Show was hailed as a comeback for UK design, with old-fashioned concepts given a more modern-day twist.

"UK design is forging ahead with more innovation," said Williams-Kenny. "We believe that a well-developed understanding of consumers' needs and a skillful incorporation of pop elements with traditional design can make MG as classic as it is stylish."

In 1924, Cecil Kimber, owner of the Oxford distributor for Morris cars, produced his first car using Morris components. He used the brand name Morris Garages, which eventually got shortened into the iconic name it is today. The cars became, as Williams-Kenny once described them, the epitome of British fashion, image and technology.

Renowned for its "faceted flow" design in the front of the car, MG's octagonal logo has become synonymous with the vision of dynamic driving, according to the company. That heritage has not been lost in the new range of SAIC MG models.

The MG 5 is supposed to present the brand's sporty new face. According to Williams-Kenny, the "perfectly balanced lines of the wheels and the wheel arches create a compact side view, which underscores the car's dynamic stance." He also said the rear lights, positioned above the car's shoulder sidelines, "strengthen the visual impact of the forward-looking style."

He added, "Both British and Chinese consumers are looking for progressive and dynamic car exteriors, and that's exactly what MG stands for and what the avant-garde UK design aims at."

Still, MG 5's sporty look has been toned down a bit to suit Chinese tastes, he said. Compared with SAIC's own Roewe model, MG has been modified to "present a more approachable image" for the local market, he said.

For Williams-Kenny, MG must appeal to a young generation that is "outgoing, enterprising, and individualistic."

"I think it used to be accurate to say that Chinese products are more conservative than Europe, but it is more and more important to offer a car with a unique identity."

Anthony Williams-Kenny

Williams-Kenny started his career in Mitsubishi Electric's design center in Germany after acquiring a Master degree in automotive design in the United States.

He joined the MG Rover Group in 2000 and set up the current SAIC Motor UK design team in 2005 to work on the design for SAIC's self-owned brands.

Nearly all of SAIC's award-winning models including Roewe 550, MG6, MG Zero concept and MG3 were designed under Williams-Kenny's guidance.