Essay About Computer Aided Styling And Global Market

A New Aesthetic Design Workflow –
A New Aesthetic Design Workflow –
Results from the European Project FIORES
C. Werner Dankwort and Gerd Podehl1
Styling design is becoming a crucial mark for the success of consumer
goods on the global market. Computer Aided Styling (CAS) and Computer
Aided Aesthetic Design (CAAD), but also manual work on physical models
are the methods for creating optimal aesthetic shapes. The Brite-
EuRam project FIORES covering 12 partners including automotive companies,
styling companies, system suppliers, and research institutes is
developing methods for optimizing the styling workflow. The goal is to
formalize evaluation criteria for aesthetic surfaces which can then be
used directly for modifying free-form surfaces in the sense of target driven
design or Engineering in Reverse (EiR). The styling processes in different
companies are analyzed, the concept of Engineering in Reverse is
introduced, the midterm results of the project are presented. This work is
the joint result of the project consortium.
Introduction
After having carefully considered the factors efficiency, quality, price,
and outer appearance, the customer decides for or against a product.
Market fields like the automotive branch or the consumer goods industry
with a crucial emotional connection between customer and product therefore
put a high emphasis on an appealing and aesthetic exterior of the
product. Styling is often the final differentiation criterion among products
competing on the market, since their functionality and quality have
more and more adjusted to one other – also at an international level – and
are thus taken for granted by the customer. The extraordinary position of
styling is of special importance to European manufacturers, because they
1Dept. of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
can hardly compete against countries with a lower wage level if competition
only aims at a reduced