The TU-Automotive, WardsAuto, and Wards Intelligence brands of the Informa Tech Automotive Group have recorded the first interview of their all-new Automotive Inspires Series, which features inspiring stories from people working in the automotive technology industry. Informa Tech Automotive Group combines the research expertise of Wards Intelligence, the reach and community of WardsAuto, and the connection and event power of TU-Automotive. 

Drew Winter, Community Manager, and Principal Analyst at Informa Tech Automotive Group, is hosting the series of interviews. Winter develops new platforms to connect people around specific interests and innovations in order to generate high-quality interactions and content as a Community Manager.

To kick off the series, Winter interviewed Joann Jung, Design Director, Interior Design at Lucid Motors on March 18. Jung is a creative design professional with 17 years of automotive experience who leads interior design at Lucid Motors. As the Creative Director of Interior Design, she oversees development of vehicle interiors from concept strategy to volume production, with the overarching goal of designing the ultimate in-vehicle experiences for all occupants by creating a unique interior space concept.

Prior to her role at Lucid, Jung led Global Advance Interior Design at Ford Motor Company, taking point on multiple advanced projects with a multi-disciplinary team. Before joining the Advance Interior team, she created concepts for all new 2015 Ford F150 interior and spent years at the Lincoln studio, with designs that included the Lincoln MKT concept interior.

“The stereotype of an automotive designer is a person who starts out drawing cars when they are a kid and end up working for a major automaker creating sleek sports cars,” says Winter. “Joann Jung doesn’t fit that mould. She immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea with her family when she was a teenager and she wanted to be an artist or sculptor.”

While at Ford, Jung rose steadily through the ranks; Not by sketching sheet metal, but by using her fascination with 3D shapes and sculpture to create award-winning interiors for everything from luxury cars to Ford’s F-150 pickup, the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for decades.

“I started playing with Legos when I was three. It felt like a very natural thing for me to be interested in space and sculpting,” Jung says. She calls vehicle interiors ‘interactive sculpture’. “For me, the car is a product that is alive. It is a beautiful thing to look at and once I get in it becomes part of me,” Jung states in her recent Automotive Inspire interview. As Creative Director of Interior Design at Lucid Motors, Jung oversees development of vehicle interiors from concept strategy to volume production, with the goal of designing ultimate in-vehicle experiences for all occupants by creating a unique interior space concept.

Jung says creating a vehicle from scratch is a feeling like no other. “When I saw the car rolling out of our garage the first time in person I did cry, I’m not going to lie,” she says. The Automotive Inspire Series takes place on the second Thursday of every month via LinkedIn Live. All interviews will be available OnDemand.

News Source – https://wardsauto.informa.com/