2024 年 4 月 24 日
“MINI Aceman 在新 MINI 家族中是一个坚强的人物，有着自己年轻的个性。它拥有独立的设计语言，结构紧凑，看起来灵动。凭借其独特的表达方式，它成为那些重视城市个性的人们的完美日常伴侣。” – Oliver Heilmer，MINI 设计主管
Heilmer 先生，当您于 2017 年加入 MINI 时，您是如何着手制定引领车型走向未来的愿景的？
鉴于 MINI 是一个非常传统的品牌，问题是：如何将这样的品牌发展到未来？为了回答这个问题，我们回到经典 Mini 的诞生，了解 Alec Issigonis 爵士的精神，并从中推导出 MINI 品牌在当今背景下的发展方向。下一步是与我们非常多元化的团队一起探索原始 Mini 的精髓，并得出我们自己的创意思维。这是我们制定整体品牌设计愿景的基础，作为设计新产品的指导原则。
在开发全新的设计语言时，您面临的最大挑战是什么？
最大的挑战过去是，现在仍然是与品牌悠久历史的深刻结合。第一代 MINI 绝对是一次颠覆——但这也是故事的一部分。我们只能说MINI是一种颠覆，让之前发生的一切都留在历史书中。但那样就等于放弃了品牌的核心。相反，我们现在谈论的是独立角色——MINI Cooper 立即成为我们眼中的标志。你会更接近原始模型的典型精神：一个强大的角色，但尽可能少的花哨装饰 – “魅力简单”表达了这一点。
全新 MINI “Charismatic Simplicity” 设计语言代表什么？这在全新 MINI Aceman 中有何体现？
这是关于坚强的性格以及每个家庭成员在 MINI 家族中都有自己独特的位置。例如，MINI Aceman 从侧面看具有独特的设计语言，轮拱装饰件也具有独特的图形。它紧凑、敏捷，散发着锐意进取的决心。这就是凸显这种魅力的方面。同时，我们有意识地避免了多余的风格元素。我们的挑战是用尽可能少的设计元素来定义一个独特的角色。
您会如何描述 MINI Aceman 角色？
MINI Aceman 是一款既实用又富有表现力的日常生活中的独特伴侣。它以清新、无忧无虑的方式走进世界，并在 MINI 家族中占据中心地位。它是一种独立的性格，可能相当“前卫”，对那些重视城市空间个性和独特性的客户（无论其年龄如何）很有吸引力。
MINI Aceman 是同类产品中的第一款。是什么让 MINI Aceman 成为城市环境的标志性车辆？
MINI Aceman 完美融入城市环境，以现代全电动跨界车形式重新诠释了经典 MINI 价值观。它提供较高的座椅位置，给人一种安全感和宽敞的空间，同时又不失 MINI 标志的紧凑性和可操作性。
您从哪里汲取新的灵感来开发新的 MINI 车型？
灵感从来都不是偶然发生的，而是来自我们团队内定期、有针对性的意见交流，每个成员都贡献了他们鼓舞人心和令人着迷的经历。例如，一名团队成员制造滑板，而另一名团队成员则在帆船上生活了两年。我想说它大致分为直接灵感和间接灵感。间接灵感涉及一切激发精神的事物，这些灵感体现在我们使用的材料以及表面和数字方面。例如，直接灵感来自建筑或时尚。然而，团队内部的创造性辩论始终至关重要。
可持续生产的新材料如何影响 MINI 的设计流程？
我们的品牌设计愿景基于我们的“创意思维”，它由四个指导价值观组成：心跳、好奇心、责任感和敢于冒险。这些价值观代表了我们的基本原则，例如传统、对新事物的好奇心、可持续发展以及脱颖而出的勇气。对我们来说，可持续性和负责任地使用资源与妥协无关，而是在我们的创作过程中探索新的可能性。我们不使用皮革等材料，而是使用可提供更多设计自由和个性化的替代技术，例如通过使用图案或双色调颜色。 3D 针织是受运动鞋行业启发的核心设计元素之一的例子。我们还更换了一些元素：例如，出于美观原因，我们将铬合金替换为新的亮银色。
您对 MINI Aceman 的哪些设计创新感到特别自豪？
有两件事特别重要，而且都与规模有关。 MINI Aceman 的前悬和后悬非常短，因此非常紧凑。即便如此，车辆仍然非常安全。这是真正出色的工程工作的成果。但它的特别之处并不仅仅在于您所看到的东西。我还要特别提到如何在整个室内营造空间感，以实现最大程度的轻盈。
是否有任何隐藏的设计元素只有仔细观察才能看到？
我们隐藏小复活节彩蛋的想法是知道人们喜欢发现惊喜。并不总是在众目睽睽之下，而是在更远的地方。数字创新允许这种乐趣：例如，导航箭头可以被描绘成一个小型 MINI，或者可以在中央界面上显示一个大型旋转唱片。 Spike 就这样诞生了，他是一位动物朋友，一直是该品牌的忠实伙伴。这引发了提供一种数字伴侣的想法。可以这么说，这就是 Spike 登上 MINI 并现在出现在显示屏中的方式。
您希望MINI未来的设计朝什么方向发展？
作为一个团队，我们相信我们的“创意思维”仍将作为未来产品的指导原则与我们息息相关。与此同时，我们将更加关注责任的价值。好奇心和责任感——这些是我们向下一代灌输的价值观。
如果您可以设计一种汽车领域之外的产品——它会是什么？
我想到了很多事情，但如果我必须选择一个，我会说：一艘帆船。我一生中可能只航行过五次，但我仍然对开阔的水域和与那里盛行的自然力量打交道很着迷。我和一位同学一起为我的学位论文设计了一艘三体船，问题是是否有可能在不一定局限于道路的移动领域设计“汽车”——我相信那里仍然存在巨大的潜力。
MINI pulls an ace out of its sleeve with the first all-electric MINI Aceman. An interview with Oliver Heilmer.
24.04.2024
“The MINI Aceman is a strong character with his own young personality within the new MINI family. It has an independent design language, is compact and looks agile. With its distinctive expression, it is the perfect everyday companion for those who value individuality in urban areas.” – Oliver Heilmer, Head of MINI Design
Mr. Heilmer, when you joined MINI in 2017, how did you set about developing a vision to lead the models into the future?
Given that MINI is a very traditional brand, the question was: how do you evolve a brand like this into the future? To answer that, we went right back to the birth of the classic Mini to understand the spirit of Sir Alec Issigonis and derive from this where the MINI brand is heading in today’s context. The next step was to explore the essence of the original Mini together with our very diverse team and derive our own creative mindset. This was our foundation to develop an overall brand design vision to serve as a guiding principle in designing the new products.
What was your biggest challenge in developing a completely new design language?
The biggest challenge was and still is the profound engagement with the brand’s strong history. The first MINI was an absolute disruption – but that is also part of the story. We could just say that MINI is disruption and let everything that happened before stay in the history books. But that would be to discard the heart of the brand. Instead, we now talk about independent characters – and the MINI Cooper immediately shone as the icon in our eyes. You get closer to the quintessential ethos of the original model: a powerful character, but with as few fancy frills as possible – “Charismatic Simplicity” expresses this.
What does the new MINI “Charismatic Simplicity” design language represent and how is this reflected in the new MINI Aceman?
It’s about strong characters and about each family member having their own individual place within the MINI family. For example, the MINI Aceman has a unique design language when viewed from the side, and a unique graphic for the wheel arch trims. It is compact, agile and exudes a determination to forge ahead. That is what highlights this charismatic aspect. At the same time, we have consciously kept away from superfluous stylistic elements. Our challenge was to define a distinctive character with as few design elements as possible.
How would you describe the MINI Aceman character?
The MINI Aceman is both a practical and expressive, unique companion in everyday life. It steps out into the world fresh and carefree and takes up its place at the centre of the MINI family. It is an independent character that can be quite ‘edgy’ and appeals to customers who – irrespective of their age – value individuality and distinctiveness in urban spaces.
The MINI Aceman is the first of its kind. What makes the MINI Aceman the signature vehicle for the urban environment?
The MINI Aceman fits perfectly into the urban environment as it reinterprets the classic MINI values in a modern, all-electric crossover format. It offers an elevated seating position that conveys a feeling of safety and a generous amount of space without losing the compactness and manoeuvrability that are the MINI hallmarks.
Where do you draw fresh inspiration to develop new MINI models?
Inspiration never happens by chance but comes from a regular and targeted exchange of views within our team, in which each member contributes their inspiring and fascinating experiences. One team member builds skateboards, for example, while another lived on a sailing boat for two years. I would say it is roughly split between direct and indirect inspiration. Indirect inspiration involves everything that fuels a spirit, which comes across in the materials we use as well as in the surfaces and the digital aspects. Direct inspiration is in the architecture or fashion, for example. However, creative debate within the team throughout is crucial.
How do new, sustainably produced materials influence the design process at MINI?
Our brand design vision is based on our “creative mindset”, which consists of four guiding values: heartbeat, curiosity, responsibility and daredevil. These values stand for our basic principles such as heritage, curiosity for the new, sustainability and the courage to stand out from the crowd. For us, sustainability and the responsible use of resources have nothing to do with compromise, but rather exploring new possibilities in our creative process. Instead of materials such as leather, we use alternative technologies that allow more design freedom and individualisation, for example through using patterns or two-tone colours. The 3D knit is an example of one of the central design elements inspired by the sneaker industry. We are also replacing elements: for example, chrome with our new Vibrant Silver colour for aesthetic reasons.
Which of the MINI Aceman design innovations are you particularly proud of?
Two things in particular, and they are both about size. The MINI Aceman is very compact because of its very short overhangs at the front and rear. Even so, the vehicle is extremely safe. This is the result of truly outstanding engineering work. But it’s not just the things you can see that make it special. I would also make particular mention of how the sense of space is brought throughout the interior to achieve maximum lightness.
Are there any hidden design element that you would only see on closer inspection?
The idea behind us hiding little Easter eggs was knowing that people love discovering surprises. Not always in plain sight, but a little further down the line. Digital innovation allows for this sort of playfulness: for example, the navigation arrow can be depicted as a small MINI, or a large spinning record can be displayed on the central interface. And that’s how Spike was born, an animal friend who has always been a loyal companion to the brand. This gave rise to the idea of offering a kind of digital companion. That’s how Spike got on board the MINI and now lives in the display, so to speak.
What direction do you want the MINI design to take in the future?
As a team, we believe that our “creative mindset” will remain just as relevant to us as a guiding principle for future products. At the same time, we will focus even more strongly on the value of responsibility. Curiosity and responsibility – these are the values that we are introducing into the minds of the next generation.
If there was a product outside the car segment that you could design – what would it be?
Many things come to mind, but if I had to choose one, I would say: a sailing boat. I’ve only been sailing maybe five times in my life, but I still have a fascination for open water and dealing with the natural forces that prevail there. I designed a trimaran together with a fellow student for my degree dissertation, with the question of whether it is possible to design “automotive” in an area of mobility that is not necessarily confined to the road – I believe that there is still enormous potential there.
