jaguar's interior design manager mark phillips, interviewed at 2015 milan design week

jaguar’s interior design manager mark phillips, interviewed at 2015 milan design week
images courtesy of jaguar land rover

showcased alongside tom dixon‘s exhibition at designjunction,  jaguar team’s ‘word cloud’ sculpture was present during the 2015 milan design week. on this occasion, designboom interviewed the british automotive brand’s interior design manager mark phillips, who has shaped the interiors of cars such as the ‘XJ’ and ‘F-type‘. with a focus on the jaguar ‘XE‘, and how its cabin combines sports performance and luxury, mark talks in detail about its lightweight construction, integration of smart technologies and the evolution of new projects.

mark phillips sitting along side the ‘word cloud’ sculpture, which was created by the jaguar team

designboom (DB): as the jaguar XE is known for being lightweight, how does the interior continue and strengthen this key aspect?

mark phillips (MP): for the exterior, it is all about proportion mainly, and its about what you want from that proportion. we wanted a very sporty performance stance so therefore, we wanted it to be very low and very wide. also, we wanted it to be a very elegant statement at the same time, so its a blend of performance and luxury. the reason why I mention elegance is because, as shown by the side view, it has a very long bonnet for this class of vehicle. as well, what we call the A-post, so the pillar and its relationship with the axle, is in its ideal position. it runs almost right into the center of the wheel. finally, its got a nice, small boot and a low center line profile, so the lightness of that is in its exterior proportions.

the interior is a tricky one. this is mainly because the space that you have got to cover, is quite similar to many other vehicles, in that you have a certain width and a certain length. one thing that we have done on all jaguars now, to get the lightness in the interior from a roominess perspective, is to get the dashboard as low as possible. if you look at a jaguar from the timeframe of around 2001 to 2002, you would have these great big and very high wooden graphic dashboards. when you sat behind them, its almost like you were sitting behind a wall and so you felt as though you were hidden. the ‘XE’, ‘XJ’, the ‘F-type’ and other vehicles, have dropped the dashboard as low as possible, to enable more light into the vehicle and to make the dashboard look slimmer. in terms of lightness on the doors, it is a difficult one because the low profile of the car, means the top of the doors are where they are. instead, the slenderness and its light feel are the impressions of the window shapes. however, the biggest thing is the height of the dashboard – this is a massive thing for jaguar.

the jaguar XE pictured during the 2015 milan design week

DB: could you explain the XE interior’s personality, how you were able to establish this and how is it different to the XJ?

MP: well there are two things here, we call them the bookends for the range. at the moment, we are entering a new market level with jaguar, but it is also more than just the so called introduction to the brand. it is also about offering a very strong and concentrated impression of what luxury and performance is. there are these two halo products; the F-type and XJ, performance and luxury, and we’ve merged their personalities together for the XE. to give you examples of that, from the XJ, you have the loop which is a very bold statement. we have taken that to the XE, giving it a very long, elegant and luxurious feeling. when you sit behind the wheel, you get a sweeping line that envelopes you. allied to that, the performance side which is represented by a very high console and a low seating position, makes the customer feel as if they are almost sitting in a sports car. they sit almost horizontally in the car, with a very low knee angle. as well, it has a F-type inspired instrument cluster and steering wheel, which gives it a powerful performance element, showing how the two elements together, give it its personality.

front view of the jaguar EX S model

DB: how do the interiors keep up with developing technologies such as infotainment centers, connectivity and augmented reality, and what did you want to include for the XE?

MP: the biggest thing really, when it comes to technology, is that we can’t keep up with the developments, say with mobile phones for obvious reasons. instead, the end game really or the responsibility for us, is to provide the customer with an interface that does the job and does it well. its an interface that empowers users and doesn’t make them frightened of using the car. we use a touch screen to relate with iphones and samsungs, as customers love to use them, and because they are used to these items everyday. their expectations are quite rightly very high, when using an interface for modern cars, and jaguar needs to get that interface into their products to stay relevant. the bottom line though, is everything that they are trying to do and the technology that is a given, shouldn’t be there for the reasons of ‘look what we can do’. its all about the experience and it is a tool that we can exploit in order to enhance this user experience. we are giving the customer an experience and it has to be joyous one, so anything that makes that journey more difficult, means we have failed as designers. it has to be something that is easy to use, fun to use and makes them really want to use it.

‘we have dropped the dashboard as low as possible, to enable more light into the vehicle’

DB: how were you able to translate the exterior design into the interior, and ensure that the inside lives up to expectations first perceived when viewing the outside?

MP: they have to have similar personalities. if you had a wacky exterior and a conservative interior, or a conservative exterior and a wacky interior, there wouldn’t be a balance and there has to be that. this is my opinion, but I am a firm believer that the exterior delivers a promise to the consumer, and hopefully that consumer likes what he or she sees. if the interior is doing its job, then they will get into it and fall in love with the car. that is the heart of the vehicle and it takes their heart. basically, the job of interior is to deliver the promise that exterior gives them in the showroom. that is not designer talk, I passionately believe that there is that experience of when you jump in the car and drive it, where you need to love it. it is as simple as that. I think it is the same with anything really, whether its an iphone and you like the look of it, to when you use and think this is really cool. it is just a mental stage that you go through in order to fall in love with something.

the interior reflects luxury and performance

DB: how does a new project evolve, does the interior design follow on from the exterior or is it inspired from other influences?

MP: every product is different. one thing that is changing, is that the car industry is becoming less old school automotive because, today, people are becoming more and more design savvy. my dad knows more about design than he would have 20 years ago, when he was younger for example. there is more press and media coverage, as well as websites, so many more people want to see and buy products.

for us, the exterior and interior go side by side. there is a little bit of stagger, in that you have to know what the exterior is roughly before you put something inside of it – kind of like the chicken and the egg. essentially, the two start off on the same sheet, whereby you have an objective, you have an idea of what people want, what we believe the brand needs to deliver and where we take the design forward. we go over and over these questions, for a number of months, until we get something that we believe is delivering what it needs to deliver. overall, every project is subtly different but that has become more the case in recent years.

a look into the rear of the interior

DB: are there some new, exciting projects that jaguar are developing on and what can we look out for?

MP: there’s lots of exciting stuff and I can’t talk about them, I’m afraid. I would love to. all I will say is, in all the years that I have been in the car industry, jaguar land rover as brands, is such an exciting place and time to be right now. there is so much cool stuff coming out. going forward, interviews like this will become even more interesting.