Seat Ibiza – 5-Door Passenger Car

red dot: best of the best
red dot award: product design 2009

Fine-tuned – language of form and emotion
The design of cars centres on personalities. It is people who create them and who, when starting out on a new design, have a particular target group in mind, interpreting and defining their tastes and sense of style. The design of the Seat Ibiza is targeted mainly at younger drivers; its appearance is youthful and dynamic – this is how the design aim reads. From a technical perspective, the innovative appearance of this new model is based on the fact that it is placed on a new chassis, featuring a longer wheelbase as well as an extended track width. The lowered position of the headlights lends it a sporting appeal, while a distinctive radiator grille dominates the front. However, what makes the design of the new Seat Ibiza highly interesting is the approach of how it reinterprets the form. The new model showcases a harmonious and highly consistent layout – with its round and powerful appearance it sensuously stimulates the emotion of the driver. The form is the expression of a design maxim that aims to define cars from an emotional perspective. The aim of chief designer Luc Donckerwolke has been to coordinate all individual elements into a fine-tuned unity. The forms of a car are to be precisely balanced to create a convincing overall picture. Thus, with its consistent design layout, no detail seems exaggerated or superfluous, and instead it plausibly communicates its qualities via curved and “tensioned” lines. The Seat Ibiza thus convincingly addresses its target group, who set a high personal value on authenticity – emotions fine-tuned to the design intention.