Automotive Design often stems from bold ideas that have the potential to impact millions of lives by creating something very new and meaningful.

Amol Satpute, our next pathbreaker, Designer at Hyundai Motor India ltd, works on a lot of different and diverse projects involving Interior and Exterior design .

Amol talks to  Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about an internship with Tugbotz Design, on the Ambassador revival project which was a catalyst for his journey in Automotive Design !

For students, this is a very demanding profession and often times the odds are stacked against you. You need to win it with obsession.

Amol, Your background?

I grew up in Pune and was here for 23 years of my life. Our school was quite unique, we had no bags, no homework and no need for tuition. As a result I spent most of my childhood playing with friends or drawing something. We used to get second hand magazines like Auto car, Top gear etc from the paper recycling shop and I spent a lot of hours everyday making cut – outs of cars I liked and pasting them in my special notebook. A few friends were like me and we used to always talk about how nice some cars ‘looked’ . My parents were extremely supportive, and always strived to give me the best possible tools to push me forward!

What did you do for graduation/post graduation?

I did my B.Des from MIT Institute of Design. The 1st year (foundation year) is the same for everyone in order to help them explore their interests within the design world.One can choose a specialization from  2nd year onwards . I chose transportation design.

What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and unique career in Automotive Design?

Growing up, I had amazing art teachers who always made me explore different mediums and styles and I had a lot of fun during those years. It kept my interest constant in the field of Art. During some boring lectures I would always find myself sketching cars on the back of notebooks / papers or any place I could find. At an Auto Expo, we came across a career called ‘car design’ and I immediately related to it. However, as a family we decided it was safer to do B.Tech first and maybe a Design degree later for masters. During the 2 years that I spent preparing for JEE Mains, I realised how much I loved sketching cars and design in general. That was a pivotal moment for me and I tried to convince my family to consider B.Des in Car Design. My father somehow managed to find a designer working at Tata and we took his guidance and advice just to get a better understanding of the future prospects of this niche field.

How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path

MITID has a tie up with Strate, Paris for exchange program, wherein you can spend one semester abroad on their campus and learn with them, follow their curriculum! That experience was a pivotal point in my design journey since I was able to see what level of ‘design’ people abroad are practicing. It made me push myself even more.

During the semester abroad, we had 2 big industry collaboration projects, with DS Automobiles and Honda. Designers from these companies would visit us every week and guide us for the design brief that was provided. It was a team project and later on we got a chance to present our work to designers in PSA (now Stellantis) in their official design review room. That was the best experience of my student journey.

I graduated in March of 2020, during the pandemic.

There was no possibility of a job. I had a strong presence on Instagram and I managed to get a few projects. In 2021 I did an internship with Tugbotz Design, with Nirmit Soni. Together we did the Ambassador revival project that went quite viral!

That helped me get more projects and contract opportunities with European design studios. I did 2 projects with Ideenion : Apollo E Vision S and Apollo E Vision X as a freelance designer. Later I worked with Superiore Design for almost 2 years where I worked on Squad Micromobility Solar Car, Tren De Solar New Energy Tourist Train for Argentina amongst a few other projects.

These projects helped strengthen my portfolio which helped me get into Hyundai Design when they had an opening.

How did you get your first break?

Tugbotz happened by chance. During the pandemic a few designers got together and started a forum where they would mentor upcoming designers, we had to pick a mentor and then if they liked our portfolio they would mentor us. Result of that internship was the Ambassador project which was a catalyst in my design journey. The project went viral on Instagram and it landed me a few freelance / contract roles. Superiore was one of them.

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

Challenge 1: The first challenge was definitely in convincing my parents / family that I wanted to go for this unique field of design that very few people have heard of and even fewer have mastered. Do your research and build a strong case along with some sketches / basic portfolio to back it up.

Challenge 2: Second challenge usually comes during college where it’s very easy to lose focus and get overwhelmed by how good your peers are. It is important that you continuously work on your skills and try to give your best everyday with a belief that your time will come.

Challenge 3: Third challenge comes after you graduate and are looking for a job. This is the most crucial time as you will see some of your friends / peers go in a different direction, some might quit design in general. But if you really want to make it in car design, keep pushing everyday, find your niche and keep posting your work on LinkedIn / instagram in order to help it reach more people. It will definitely work out for you!

Where do you work now?

I am working as a Designer at Hyundai India.

Sketching, Rendering, and 3D are conventional skills that are required for the job. But apart from that you really need to have an eye for problems the customer is facing. While working for a mass car manufacturer like Hyundai, you have the chance to impact millions of lives positively when you design right. We spend a lot of time in the field talking to customers, driving different cars in different cities ourselves and going the extra mile to better understand how we can add value. Then we try to translate those ideas in a tangible format via sketching, 3D etc.

Hyundai has a car in every segment, as a designer you get to work on a lot of different and diverse projects and on the way you pick up skills very quickly. That’s what I love about this job.

I have worked on Interior and Exterior design both, as a result I’m a ‘Designer’ with no label. As a transportation designer you can design many things.

I have worked on Trains, Scooters, Micro Car, Concept Car Exteriors, Production Car Interiors to pinpoint a few.

How does your work benefit society?

We are a mass manufacturer. With bold ideas as designers, we have the opportunity to positively impact millions of lives. It can be anything, more space for your bags, coffee, phone or easy to get in / get out of the car or more visibility from the cockpit or a dedicated space for your pet. Whatever we do, we do for the people and we need to understand them first.

Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!

I designed the Tren De Solar New Energy Tourist Train. It runs in Jujuy, Argentina and since it’s a tourist train – people from around the world get to experience it. It brings me joy to see people post pictures and videos with the train and making it a part of their memorable vacation. The train has a distinct character and is very memorable to anyone who sees it in real life. It is loved by the local community as well. I am proud to see the amount of joy it has brought to people. That alone reinforces my faith in how design can bring positivity.

Your advice to students based on your experience?

As a student, you need to be extremely realistic and obsessed. Realistic because this is a very tough field with a limited number of openings, and it’s very hard to get into this industry as a professional. Obsessed because during this tough phase it’s very easy to give up as well. If you are genuinely serious about this career, then you need to spend countless days and nights to hone your skills and be the master of your craft. This is a very demanding profession and often times the odds are stacked against you. You need to win it with obsession.

Future Plans?

A good thing about being a car designer is that you are trained at a very high level. Hence you can very well succeed in any Industrial Design field. Another interesting field that is coming up is General Purpose Robotics and autonomous vehicles where there is potential to reimagine the architecture from scratch and create something very new and meaningful. I have started taking interest in these things. Let’s see where this goes, till then I’m always learning!