Interview with Michael Streicher, Prof. Andrea Lipp und Achim Burmeister

Designer of NEOPLAN Bus GmbH

Design BTD, Stuttgart

What inspired you to create this particular product and what was the intention behind it?

Andrea Lipp: To be allowed to design a new premium product is a thrill for any designer – at the same time in this case the previous model already set such high standards that we designers saw ourselves as facing very high expectations. It was clear to us that it would have to be a typical Neoplan, with the traditional elements and unusual appearance. So it meant taking up typical features of the trademark and giving them a fresh interpretation with innovative ideas.

The design work on the interior was chiefly characterised by our endeavour to expand the narrow space inside the coach both optically and tangibly, in order for the journey to become an experience and a pleasure for the passenger.  There is plenty of inspiration to be found in the early coaches of the fifties and sixties, which with panoramic windows and apparently suspended luggage racks actually had the open, airy interiors we are trying to create today.

Achim Burmeister:

The Cityliner has been a fixed part of the upper segment of the NEOPLAN family of buses for thirty years.  In the course of renewing this model, a lot more synergy effects were used with modules taken from other production series.  We then had to turn these into an original image and find the right position for it in the product family in question, while keeping the competition in our sights.

Key words for the exterior: dynamic, high quality

Key words for the interior: light, airy, modern comfort

Michael Streicher: Inspiration frequently comes from areas such as architecture, fashion, art, the landscape and so on. I try to formulate my sketches in words: NEOPLAN coaches traditionally have to be eye-catching, dynamic and innovative.  Our coaches have an unmistakable character and therefore are highly recognisable.

What does the red dot: best of the best award mean for you?

Andrea Lipp: A design prize is always a confirmation of a particular kind – as it implies a compliment from colleagues in the same field for the high aesthetic standard of our own design work.  Belonging to the best-of-the-best makes me particularly proud and naturally encourages us to continue on the path we have embarked on.

Achim Burmeister: Since the red dot is one of the most sought-after awards in the German design world, we are naturally delighted to receive such an award for our “touring coach” product, whose development budget and time were really very modest in relation to its size and complexity.

It is confirmation for the development team, a selling point for marketing and sales.

In your opinion what are the particular challenges which today’s designers have to face?

Andrea Lipp: From my perspective globalisation is one of the particular challenges for designers today, since it is important to hold ones own on global markets yet at the same time take up local and individual values, retain them and sometimes take them further.  At the same time we are experiencing a trend towards ever more clearly defined customer groups, so that the designer today needs a high level of understanding for both market analysis and cultural sensitivity.

Achim Burmeister: With complex products which are produced in small numbers and are traditionally only defined by their design in a subordinate way, a holistic design can only be achieved with a lot of money.

With works design the challenge lies in not allowing oneself to slip too much into a routine, in spite of the repetitiveness of the tasks. Allowing developments to feed into a well-defined product portfolio and at the same time keeping an eye on tradition and target groups.

What else would you as a designer like to achieve in the future?

Andrea Lipp: In my present work in design training I would like to help gifted young design students to learn how to keep their eye on the essentials without losing sight of the global aspects, so that they really learn how to see and grasp things as a whole and in interaction with the world around.

My goal in vehicle design is to rethink the initial conceptual work, in other words to look at the development of new vehicle concepts as a whole.  This might even include initiating a new concept in the interior, before starting on the exterior, if that is what makes sense.

Achim Burmeister: Having time and motivation for isolated projects away from the daily madness.

How important do you think design is in commercial terms?

Andrea Lipp: I think that the commercial significance of design is constantly increasing, since in globalisation and the associated technical levelling of the competitive playing field design is an important means of creating emotional values in order to address customer groups specifically and create customer identification.

Michael Streicher: At Neoplan design has always been of prime importance.  But design is not a quantifiable commodity and is largely based on subjectivity – if I have two products which are comparable in function and price, I will naturally choose the more attractive.