In this modern age, cars are a most common mode of personal transportation. Every major car manufacturer has a car design team. Car Design is a specialised area of industrial design that is known as Automotive Design.
To many designers, car design or automotive design is often viewed as the pinnacle of product design and styling.
There are areas of skills and specialisation that are peculiar to Car Design that set it apart from other branches of industrial design.
For one, car designers must work with extremely refined surface styling. This is because car styling must take into consideration the effects of reflection on the shiny and glossy surfaces of the car body. As such Car Designers are expected to have very high sense of form and aesthetic appreciation.
A Car Designer may also need to work with advanced Computer Aided Industrial Design software. One of the most popular software is Autodesk Alias Automotive. Autodesk Alias Automotive is a professional grade surface modelling 3D program. Many car design software programs work with a type of computer system known as NURBS modelling. This system can created highly accurate organic and soft form 3D surfaces. Advanced 3D modelling for Car design often include something known as Class A Surfacing.
There are places that offer courses in Car and Transportation Design. These institute includes Art Center, Domus Academy and Royal College of the Arts.