34 Why ArtCenter’s Auto Design Program is One of the Most Influential on the Planet... “ArtCenter houses what’s arguably the oldest and most influential transportation design program in the world. The school’s location in Pasadena is one reason almost every automaker has a design studio in Southern California, and you’d struggle to find a single manufacturer without a few alumni on staff. The split-window Corvette, the Boss 302 Mustang, the original Ford Taurus, the Audi TT, the BMW Z8, the modern Mini, the Lamborghini Murciélago, the Ferrari F430—all of these iconic cars were styled by ArtCenter talent.” “In 1930, advertising executive Edward “Tink” Adams was inspired to open what was then known as the ArtCenter School, located in downtown Los Angeles, which employed working professionals to teach advertising, illustration, photography, and industrial design. In 1948, he hired Strother MacMinn to lead the first classes in transportation design. MacMinn (often referred to as “Mac”) was the perfect choice to invent a new academic discipline. Besides being an inspirational educator with encyclopedic knowledge of automotive styling, MacMinn was a product of Southern California who had apprenticed at Walter M. Murphy before working for Earl at GM Styling. The transportation design department prospered under MacMinn’s Yoda-like tutelage, and its influence in the industry flourished after ArtCenter moved in the 1970s to a cubist glass-and-steel building sited dramatically on a hillside overlooking the Rose Bowl. In 1973, Toyota became the first automaker to set up a design studio in the region. (The founder was an ArtCenter grad, and MacMinn was a major player.) Nissan and Chrysler followed, and the race was on. These days it’s easier to name the manufacturers without satellite studios than to list all the ones that have them. Most of these studios focus on advanced design, creating concept cars displayed at auto shows and formulating the styling cues that a company will use for a decade or so to come. But the design outposts are also responsible for some cars that go directly into production. The original Mazda Miata was designed in Southern California—by an ArtCenter grad. So was the New Beetle. And studios continue to open here, with Tesla and possibly Genesis—the new high-line Hyundai brand—being the latest arrivals. Inevitably ArtCenter has changed with the times. When aspiring car designer Peter Brock visited the school in the mid-1950s to ask about applying, he was told that he had to submit samples of his work. So, he hurried back to his car, furiously sketched hot rods in a three-ring binder for several hours, and returned with an instant portfolio. “Will this do?” he asked. It did, and he later designed the Cobra Daytona Coupe, one of the most memorable shapes in motorsports history.”
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