66 | June 2012 | woman this month Showcase Feminine Designs EUROMOTORS In a predominantly male occupied field, we sit down with a woman car designer for BMW who has broken barriers. Juliane Blasi designed the exterior of the new BMW Z4 sports car and somewhat ironically is praised for its “masculine swagger”. Woman This Month talks with the female designer to see what it’s like working in what is considered a ‘man’s world’. As a female car designer, do you face any challenges? Actually I see no difference between my male colleagues and me. The challenge for every designer in BMW, male or female, is to win the design competition. You have to know that you will not get the chance to make a 3D proposal for every car, so you need to go that extra mile to convince the chief of design with your sketches. What counts is that they instantly see a strong character in the designs. What is the difference between designing a car and designing a BMW? The BMW brand has a strong history in making cars that have engaging aesthetics. Every BMW has a strong individual character, and you can immediately know what you can experience with a car as soon as you lay eyes on it. To me BMW combines sportiness and elegance, with a highly emotional design, like no other brand. I can personally identify with all the characteristics of BMW. While designing a sports car to a male predominant clientele, did you have to think like a man? As a BMW designer, you always try for an authentic product personality. Throughout designing the BMW Z4 I tried to express sportiness and elegance, to ensure a thoroughbred roadster concept, therefore it had to be muscular, and powerful, with sharp edges, and taut surfaces, which fit with the BMW brand. What challenges did you encounter while designing this car? The biggest challenge was to integrate the retractable hard top, while keeping the rear end design really low, to ensure a typical BMW silhouette, with soft surfaces and sharp lines, muscular shapes and a living sculpture. What do you feel when you see your concept successfully transformed into reality and out on the streets. It is of course a great feeling to see the car on the roads. Every time I see it, it reminds me of my very first sketches, the clay modelling process and the long exciting journey to series production. Needless to say, I am very proud of the results. Which part of the BMW Z4 design do you like the most? I like the front three quarter and rear three quarter the most. As they reflect a lot of movement in the surfaces the translation from the side to the rear or front, as well as a lot of contrast. Call 17 750-750.
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