The design of a car, SUV or truck can make or break the vehicle in terms of sales – and even affect its long-term collectability.
Every year in June, the annual EyesOn Design automotive exhibition at the Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores showcases some of the best-designed cars from the past, present and future.
These days, women are bringing their talent, ability, and flair to what has traditionally been the male-dominated field of car design.
Here, you’ll meet some of today’s women automotive designers. They’ve designed some of the cars, trucks, crossovers, and SUVs you’re driving today – and they’re designing and finishing the ones you’ll be driving in the future.
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Lexie Nowicki
Creative Designer
Buick Advanced Design
“A vehicle is more than transportation. There is a soul to the vehicle and that is why certain people love certain cars.”
“The personality, the styling, the capability and the lifestyles it enables is what allows people to connect with their vehicles.”
“As automotive designers, we make those connections possible. We put our love and passion into the vehicles, so that others can experience the same.”
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For Lexie Nowicki, a vehicle is more than just transportation.
“There’s a soul to the vehicle and that’s why certain people love certain cars,” says Nowicki, a creative designer who helps develop future designs, concepts, and strategies for Buick Advanced Design.
“The personality, the styling, the capability and the lifestyles it enables is what allows people to connect with their vehicles,” she says.
“As automotive designers, we make those connections possible. We put our love and passion into the vehicles so that others can experience the same.”
Nowicki began her career in automotive design at General Motors in January 2021 upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Design from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit.
But she was exposed to the auto industry at a young age by relatives who worked in the field and by joining them at various car shows.
She says her interest in automotive design really accelerated while attending GM’s “You Make a Difference,” a program geared towards high school students interested in careers in automotive design.
Now she volunteers as a mentor to students like her, to give back to the same program that helped her achieve her dream.
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Anne Asensio
Vice President, Design
Dassault Systems
“Women designers have long had to fight to impose themselves in a predominantly male world. Today, women’s careers in design are as protean as this field.”
“The truth is that when female car designers are being asked about their experience as designers, they are always surprised, as if they were asked to justify themselves.”
“(They are) creatives, gifted with imagination that reinvents the mobility of tomorrow, qualities that are as feminine as they are masculine.”
“Shifting to human-centered design, the qualities women designers have displayed for decades should move to the forefront, emphasizing the creation of proposals designed for the user audience.”
. . .
Anne Asensio has seen the struggle women have had to go through at times to make their way in the automotive world.
“Women designers have long had to fight to impose themselves in a predominantly male world. Nevertheless, they contributed to the history of design. And today, women’s careers in design are as protean as the field,” says Asensio, the vice-president of design for Dassault Systems, which develops software for 3D product design, simulation, and manufacturing.
“What we have learned from the past is that female designs are often symbols of progress, emphasizing the creation of proposals designed for the user audience” – both male and female, says Asensio, a graduate of the Ecole Nationale Superiore des Art Appliques et Métier d’Arts in Paris who also studied at Detroit’s Center for Creative Studies.
“Today, we have gotten beyond the classical tradition of car design that forged the codes and values (of the past). Experience and sustainable mobility are revolutionizing the practice.”
In the future, she believes, as the field shifts to what she calls “human-centered design,” the qualities women designers have displayed for decades should move to the forefront.
And, she says, “I will be there.”
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La Shirl Turner
Head of Advanced Color and Materials
Stellantis
“Growing up in the Motor City, car culture was always in my DNA. While I thought I was going to be a fashion designer (or starving artist), I was fascinated by magazines like Car & Driver or Road & Track – and intrigued as my family wrenched on their cars in the driveway.”
“Through my studies at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, I was able to bring my passion for color, fabrics and textures to automotive design.”
“Today, my team is responsible for every single thing you can see and touch on a vehicle, from the selection of exterior colors to the smallest detail, like how a lever on an air vent will feel to your fingers.”
“I’m honored to have worked on such vehicles as the luxurious modern Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, the performance-driven Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the iconic Jeep Wrangler and the innovative Chrysler Pacifica minivan.”
. . .
Growing up in the Motor City, car culture has always been part of her DNA, says La Shirl Turner, the head of Advanced Color and Materials for Stellantis.
Still, she briefly considered other options before embracing the field.
“While I thought I was going to be a fashion designer or a starving artist, I was fascinated by magazines like Car & Driver or Road & Track – and intrigued as my family wrenched on their cars in the driveway,” says Turner.
She also drew inspiration from the exhibits at such local landmarks as the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
Thankfully, through her studies at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus on textile design, Turner was able to bring her passion for color, fabrics, and textures to field of automotive design.
“Today, my team is responsible for every single thing you can see and touch on a vehicle, from the selection of exterior colors to the smallest detail, like how a lever on an air vent will feel to your fingers.”
And she’s happy to list some of her recent projects.
“I’m honored to have worked on such vehicles as the luxurious modern Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, the performance-driven Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the iconic Jeep Wrangler and the innovative Chrysler Pacifica minivan.”
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Liz Wetzel
Co-Director of Transportation Design
Lawrence Tech University
Former Design Director
General Motors Design
“You do not have to be a car enthusiast or gearhead to love the challenge of automotive design.”
“My story starts at General Motors’ Design, where I worked with some of the most talented and passionate people to create the designs of seven concept vehicles and 25 production vehicles over three decades.”
“If you are a creative, inventive, and artistic woman, there is no better time for you to look into creative careers in the automotive industry. Your perspective and insight are greatly needed as there is still a lower-than-desired representation (of women).”
. . .
Transportation design is entering one of the most innovative and exciting phases in its history, believes Liz Wetzel.
She should know. She’s the co-director of Transportation Design at Lawrence Technological University.
Her story starts at General Motors’ Design where she worked with talented and passionate people to create the designs of seven concept vehicles and 25 production vehicles over three decades.
“I became the first woman to lead the design of an entire vehicle at GM Design – the Buick Rendezvous,” says Wetzel.
She also spent three years in Europe as GM’s Director of Interior Design, traveling all around the world to better understand trends and market needs.
“You do not have to be a car enthusiast or gearhead to love the challenge of automotive design. My training was in Industrial Design, not automotive,” she says.
“But if you are creative, you will find a fit. There are many creative career options in this industry. And the list of careers keeps growing as technology enables exponential innovation and new product categories.”
So, her advice is simple
“If you are a creative, inventive, and artistic woman, there is no better time for you to look into creative careers in the automotive industry. Your perspective and insight are greatly needed as there is still a lower-than-desired representation (of women).”
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Nancy Lockhart
Global Product Manager – Color
Axalta Coating Systems
“Colors create memories, moods and expectations that have lasting impressions over time.”
“My love for color started with nature but transpired as I began my journey in automotive coatings. A coating is dynamic and versatile in how it reacts with the viewer as they move around the painted object.”
“Designing colors that excite emotion and embellish the object has been a key focus of my career. Understanding the design elements, science and emotion of color has helped me develop color solutions for the mobility market.”
The lines of a vehicle and its interior details may catch your eye initially. But sometimes, it is the color of the car that drives home the point.
. . .
That’s where Nancy Lockhart comes in. She’s the Global Product Manager - Color, for Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coating systems.
“Colors create memories, moods and expectations that have lasting impressions over time,” she says.
Surprisingly, her understanding of how color can bring an object to life was realized early in life when she became interested in black-and-white photography.
Soon, she was able to watch those images come to life in her own home darkroom as she made parts of the image lighter or darker to set the mood.
All along, she was photographing nature in both black-and-white and color while documenting the wonders of the natural world, with Yosemite being her favorite place to visit.
“My love for color started with nature but transpired as I began my journey in automotive coatings. A coating is dynamic and versatile in how it reacts with the viewer as they move around the painted object,” says Lockhart, who has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and Earth Science from Western Michigan University.
“Designing colors that excite emotion and embellish the object has been a key focus of my career. Understanding the design elements, science and emotion of color has helped me develop color solutions for the mobility market,” she says.
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Soo Kang
Chief Designer
Ford Design, Enterprise Product Line Management
“I came to the United States from Korea, with plans to study music and become a classical harpist. Fortunately, I discovered a fondness for visual arts such as sculpting and drawing.”
“In the course of earning my bachelor’s degree in fine arts, I entered a Ford Motor Company-sponsored competition that sought unique designs for a four-door luxury sedan. I won, and then accepted a full-time design position after graduating (and) I’ve consistently delivered leading designs for Ford and Lincoln throughout my 35-year career.”
“What I do is not fine art. It’s applied art, precisely created to bring joy and satisfaction to our customers’ everyday lives.”
. . .
Soo Kang didn’t start out to become a car designer.
“I came to the United States from Korea, with plans to study music and become a classical harpist,” says Kang. “Fortunately, I discovered a fondness for the visual arts such as sculpting and drawing.”
While earning her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art, she entered a Ford Motor Company-sponsored competition seeking unique designs for a four-door luxury sedan.
Kang won the contest and went to work at Ford in 1987 after graduating. Since then, she’s delivered leading designs for Ford and Lincoln over a 35-year career.
Now, she’s the Chief Designer at Ford Design’s Enterprise Product Line Management, which manages different brands from start to finish, from trucks, utility vehicles and performance vehicles to luxury vehicles, emerging market products and electric vehicles.
“I always begin with ‘who’s the customer?’ What are their unique needs, aspirations, and desires? How can I satisfy them – and differentiate from other vehicles and brands?” says Kang.
“What I do is not fine art. It’s applied art, precisely created to bring joy and satisfaction to our customers’ everyday lives,” she says.
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Sharon Gauci
Executive Director of Design
Global Buick and GMC
“As a leader, my goal is to bring awareness to the creative opportunities our business offers and foster the next generation of passionate and diverse talent.”
“Diversity in thought and education is critical to getting the best ideas and the most creative solutions possible.”
“And diversity means including women and minorities and those underrepresented in the design world.”
. . .
Throughout her extensive design career, Sharon Gauci has worked on many global vehicles, including performance cars, an electric bike, and an electric delivery van.
No surprise then that one of her recent projects is the just-released, all-electric Cadillac Lyriq.
A native Australian, Gauci became the Executive Director of Design for Global Buick and GMC last October. Before that, she was the Executive Director of Industrial Design at GM and one of the company’s seven leaders working to implement GM’s zero emissions vision.
In her current role, she is responsible for leading studios to create the visual expression and strategies for Buick, GMC, and GM Hummer vehicles globally.
“As a leader, my goal is to bring awareness to the creative opportunities our business offers and to foster the next generation of passionate and diverse talent,” says Gauci, who graduated with a degree in Industrial Design from Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia.
Besides the striking Lyriq, Gauci also worked on the GMC Hummer EV, the Cadillac Escala, the Buick Avista and the Buick Avenir, which won two EyesOn Design awards at the 2015 North American International Auto Show.
Gauci feels that the best automotive designs come through tapping diverse audiences, employees, and customers.
“Diversity in thought and education is critical to getting the best ideas and the most creative solutions possible,” she says.
“And diversity means including women and minorities and those underrepresented in the design world.”
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