Painting, but with light

I am working on an automotive project at the moment, and it made me think about the way I approach CAD work.

I remember a few eye-rolls over the years when I started obsessing over tiny details and talking about Class-A surfaces, curvature, smoothness, G2 or G3 continuity.

This is the jargon designers use when we are trying to create a very refined CAD model.

But I am not simply trying to find a 3D shape that ticks all the requirement boxes or wraps nicely around everything inside.

I am trying to control the impression someone has when they look at the product — and how it makes them feel about the product and the brand.

In that sense, surfacing is a bit like painting the product with light.

How can I shape and control a surface so that light and shadow create the right impression?

A tiny change in curvature may barely affect the physical dimensions of the product, but it can significantly change its reflections — and therefore how refined, precise or premium it feels.

Fractions of a millimetre can make a surprisingly large visual difference.

That is why I sometimes obsess over 0.1 mm when I design a product.

I posted this on LinkedIn originally: https://lnkd.in/p/e3YRMUTB

Related: Cad Development