bencoyote Posted February 9, 2015 Share #1 Posted February 9, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have been wondering this pretty much since Leica announced the T and said its case was done by "Audi design" and I've never come across a definitive answer. Is this "Audi" as in the upscale brand of Volkswagen car company Audi? or is there some other "Audi design" in Germany that helped out with the industrial design of the T? If it is the Audi the car company, why a car company? I don't know a ton about cars but is it just because they have lots of experience cranking out high volumes of CNC milled parts for their cars? One would think that Audi the car company would use other metal working processes like casting and forging to make parts. Apple is the only company that I know of (!!!) which is crazy enough to use CNC milling to make a mass produced product. Do car companies do it too? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 9, 2015 Posted February 9, 2015 Hi bencoyote, Take a look here Audi design -- the car company???. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
earleygallery Posted February 9, 2015 Share #2 Posted February 9, 2015 Yes, Audi as in the car company. Leica are reciprocating by designing the next Audi A4. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted February 10, 2015 Share #3 Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) Yup. Audi like Porsche has a general design consultancy. Want an Audi table clock? Audi's latest design is a table clock Will go well with your Porsche sunglasses and Bentley skis. Sunglasses | Porsche Design zai for Bentley - Zai Not to mention your Ferrari watch Ferrari Store - Official Ferrari Merchandise Online Shopping Btw, the production line for Summarit lenses was optimized by Porsche Consultancy. Edited February 10, 2015 by jaapv Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted February 10, 2015 Share #4 Posted February 10, 2015 I have been wondering this pretty much since Leica announced the T and said its case was done by "Audi design" and I've never come across a definitive answer. Is this "Audi" as in the upscale brand of Volkswagen car company Audi? or is there some other "Audi design" in Germany that helped out with the industrial design of the T? If it is the Audi the car company, why a car company? I don't know a ton about cars but is it just because they have lots of experience cranking out high volumes of CNC milled parts for their cars? One would think that Audi the car company would use other metal working processes like casting and forging to make parts. Apple is the only company that I know of (!!!) which is crazy enough to use CNC milling to make a mass produced product. Do car companies do it too? I would assume that car companies like Audi do have very good and innovative designers. So why should a german camera company not work together with a german car company. I think design means here the design how the camera looks like and its from factor plus maybe the user interface (also here car companies should know well how to design a good user interface), and not the detail design how it is manufactured. Specially if you want something new and different the approach to let it do people who come from different products makes sense. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian m Posted March 25, 2015 Share #5 Posted March 25, 2015 To continue what jaapv was saying—a lot of these car companies have entirely separate design consultancy entities. It's not the same actual people who design the cars. Depending on the company, the designers might mingle and/or discuss overall design language with the car designers, but it's more likely that they haven't even met. Porsche Design definitely acts mostly like a completely separate company. BMW Designworks primarily operates in a completely separate country and language. I've not heard much about Audi's consultancy and how separate it might be or not be. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecaton Posted March 25, 2015 Share #6 Posted March 25, 2015 (edited) Yup. Audi like Porsche has a general design consultancy. Want an Audi table clock? Audi's latest design is a table clock Will go well with your Porsche sunglasses and Bentley skis. Sunglasses | Porsche Design zai for Bentley - Zai Not to mention your Ferrari watch Ferrari Store - Official Ferrari Merchandise Online Shopping Btw, the production line for Summarit lenses was optimized by Porsche Consultancy. Porsche Design is an independent company, not part of the Volkswagen group of companies, but owned by a member of the Porsche family. Edited March 25, 2015 by Ecaton 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Albertson Posted March 25, 2015 Share #7 Posted March 25, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Too right. Audi won Le Mans last year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicatraveller Posted March 25, 2015 Share #8 Posted March 25, 2015 Yup. Audi like Porsche has a general design consultancy. Want an Audi table clock? Audi's latest design is a table clock Will go well with your Porsche sunglasses and Bentley skis. Sunglasses | Porsche Design zai for Bentley - Zai Not to mention your Ferrari watch Ferrari Store - Official Ferrari Merchandise Online Shopping Btw, the production line for Summarit lenses was optimized by Porsche Consultancy. but a company like Leica has no designers able to design a camera ?sorry but is funny...they did cameras for 101 years .....for me is a minus knowing that Leica is asking Audi.....better ask Audi help and don't "advertise" this my 2 cents Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian m Posted March 25, 2015 Share #9 Posted March 25, 2015 but a company like Leica has no designers able to design a camera ?sorry but is funny...they did cameras for 101 years .....for me is a minus knowing that Leica is asking Audi.....better ask Audi help and don't "advertise" this my 2 cents I think some of the best product designs come from collaborations. Even if Audi Design isn't the Audi car designers, Leica reaching out to an external entity for a collaboration helped inject some fresh ideas and new directions into what they were doing. It's easy for designers to get stuck in a cycle of refining what they already know they're good at. Sometimes you just need someone from outside to help bring some fresh eyes. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted March 27, 2015 Share #10 Posted March 27, 2015 but a company like Leica has no designers able to design a camera ?sorry but is funny...they did cameras for 101 years .....for me is a minus knowing that Leica is asking Audi.....better ask Audi help and don't "advertise" this my 2 cents You mean, like Pininfarina designing Ferraris, Bertone designing Lamborghinis and Zagato Aston Martins? 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeralCoton Posted March 27, 2015 Share #11 Posted March 27, 2015 Porsche is owned by Volkswagen. Design groups can Design. It's not like there are five interlocking rings on the T. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted March 27, 2015 Share #12 Posted March 27, 2015 You thinking of the Olympics? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted March 27, 2015 Share #13 Posted March 27, 2015 (edited) I think some of the best product designs come from collaborations. Even if Audi Design isn't the Audi car designers, Leica reaching out to an external entity for a collaboration helped inject some fresh ideas and new directions into what they were doing. It's easy for designers to get stuck in a cycle of refining what they already know they're good at. Sometimes you just need someone from outside to help bring some fresh eyes. Indeed - that's why the 'Audi' Leica M edition doesn't have a hot shoe, so you can't use flash nor can you use any lenses wider than 28mm which require a shoe mounted finder. Sometimes you need knowledge of the product and its application, not just what looks pretty, although the limited editions were really made for collectors to display. Edited March 27, 2015 by earleygallery Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted March 27, 2015 Share #14 Posted March 27, 2015 Indeed - that's why the 'Audi' Leica M edition doesn't have a hot shoe ...or strap lugs for that matter, as it could easily be dropped with those white gloves on. Oh thats right - with strap lugs one might be tempted to use it. Function getting in the way of form Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
julian m Posted March 27, 2015 Share #15 Posted March 27, 2015 Sometimes you need knowledge of the product and its application, not just what looks pretty, although the limited editions were really made for collectors to display. Of course. But I highly doubt Leica just hired an external consultancy, locked them alone in a room, and out popped the Audi M and T. It takes back-and-forth. Leica designers/engineers were certainly involved in this as well. And good designers would spend a great deal of time trying to understand the subject matter—there are entire fields of study dedicated to *only* the process of understanding before one begins designing. I'm not saying everything produced was perfect (or even that this Audi design consultancy necessarily consisted of the greatest designers), but I am saying there's no way the T would've happened without trying some controversial changes. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicatraveller Posted March 27, 2015 Share #16 Posted March 27, 2015 You mean, like Pininfarina designing Ferraris, Bertone designing Lamborghinis and Zagato Aston Martins? Pininfarina and Bertone are designers for cars and they design cars for ferrari so in this case...you will be also happy if a designer of toilets will design your leica ? i.e. Catalano :D:D:D Ceramica Catalano | Sanitari bagni, lavabi, ceramiche bagno Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted March 28, 2015 Share #17 Posted March 28, 2015 Pininfarina and Bertone are designers for cars and they design cars for ferrari so in this case...you will be also happy if a designer of toilets will design your leica ? i.e. Catalano :D:D:D Ceramica Catalano | Sanitari bagni, lavabi, ceramiche bagno Not sure why Leica would engage a toilet designer, but I do understand why they would engage a design company to do one off designs, and perhaps challenge design orthodoxy. What's interesting is that the fundamental form factor has changed so little. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted March 28, 2015 Share #18 Posted March 28, 2015 When Leica collaborates with or hires a prestigious European design firm to create an item, Leica is not only placed in good company, but it also is sending a message to those who wish Leica to join their aesthetic/consumer realm. It is good for Leica. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brill64 Posted March 30, 2015 Share #19 Posted March 30, 2015 I So why should a german camera company not work together with a german car company. ...because they are broad-minded? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlingbastard Posted March 30, 2015 Share #20 Posted March 30, 2015 I always thought the Audi TT was the design inspiration for the Leica T Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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