Jeremy Offer: The Unorthodox Designer Shaping the Future of Volvo

Jeremy Offer is the new design chief at Volvo, and he is not your typical automotive designer. With a background in industrial design and consulting, Offer brings a unique perspective to the automotive industry. In a recent interview with Autocar, Offer discussed his approach to car design and how it will shape the future of Volvo.

A Holistic Approach to Car Design

Offer believes that automotive design is no longer just about the engine, but about core computing, software, and the user experience. He comes from a consumer electronics background and believes that the automotive industry is becoming more device-like. The car is now an extension of your digital lifestyle, and it needs to be seamless when you get into your car. Creating that requires a more holistic idea of what designing a car is about rather than just interior and exterior styling.

Offer believes that creating a new language around premium and luxury by allowing more space and light into the vehicle helps to define that feeling when you get into a vehicle. There is a wow factor, but it’s more of a sensory feeling around the interior space that you’re in and the ergonomics.

Pushing Volvo Forward with Cross-Functional Teams

Offer believes that creating cross-functional teams that can enhance the experience is key to pushing Volvo forward. He has breadth of experience, from modelling in Alias to designing user-centred experience flows. He believes that the car is becoming a physical portal to connected software and services, so something that’s key is ensuring that flow of your digital life as you move from home to work to your car, a seamless integration with the technology. But it’s still about the driving experience, and that is another dimension that fully electric gives you.

Respecting Volvo’s Heritage

Offer respects Volvo’s heritage and believes that certain key brand expressions like the Thor’s hammer headlights are sacrosanct. He believes that the exterior design is not secondary to user experience, and creative direction is one of his absolute strengths. He will make sure every Volvo that has his name on it will look incredible.

Offer believes that Volvo’s design language is quiet, and there is a sort of humility and elegance to it. In a plethora of overstyled vehicles, Volvo’s design language is a pinnacle of form following function, or rational simplicity.

Making an Estate Sexy Again

Offer believes that there is no reason why an estate can’t be sexy. If they were to design an estate or a saloon, great design can make it sexy. He believes that exterior design is not secondary to user experience, and creative direction is one of his absolute strengths.

Conclusion

Jeremy Offer’s unorthodox background influences his unique approach to car design. He believes that automotive design is no longer just about the engine, but about core computing, software, and the user experience. He respects Volvo’s heritage and believes that certain key brand expressions like the Thor’s hammer headlights are sacrosanct. Offer believes that there is no reason why an estate can’t be sexy. He will make sure every Volvo that has his name on it will look incredible.