Therese: talks to customers in The Lab

October 1, 2009 at 8:41 am

@ Ann Arbor's Cupcake Station

Name: Therese Tant, GM Designer
Current ride: Chevy Avalanche [company vehicle] [Just sold my 1969 Howe firetruck back in January]
Favorite vehicle: 1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado [in black] – I would be so happy in that car!!I And… Currently obsessed with 1966 Chevy van…in particular a custom one that I found on the web– so fun! Black, with dual stacked squared-off headlamps and a dragon mural on the side!!! Cheeky-kewl, fun!
Favorite sites: “design is love” flicker group, http://www.tuvie.com/, http://www.notcot.org/, http://www.yankodesign.com/, http://www.coolhunting.com/

Listen to Therese talk about an example of culture change at GM

What inspires me:
1.] A constant diet of new things to break the vacuum seal!
2.] Music – music can spin your imagination endlessly, edgy to ethereal.
3.] Color-coated graphic art – [in-your-face graffiti to digital hyper-modern] even flat shape doused with color can deliver a dimensional vision.
4.] Stories of science and technological innovation – you read, you believe that anything’s possible!
5.] Fashion; expression of style, application of materials, exaggeration of proportion, what more do you need?

A good designer has an open, curious mind! I’d like to think that the more you see and experience, the more that you share, the more creative you become. Bjork [Icelandic critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, composer, actress and producer] once spoke about her creative process by referring to her mind as a space full of drawers, drawers that have tucked away various ideas and memories. She creates music by just rummaging through the drawers. We have to fill the drawers in order to rummage through them! Inspirational nourishment is critical for creative growth, and I try to take it in whenever I have a free moment!

Editor’s note: Talk to Therese and other designers in The Lab: http://thelab.gmblogs.com/

Mel Fox

Oct 1st, 2009

Awesome!!! Therese, you are so cool!!! I hope to bump into you someday!!! You are definitely a secret gem within GM – yay for FacesofGM!!!!
Steve

Oct 6th, 2009

Why is it that the designers have to always wear abnormal clothing with tacky colors. These concepts are then driven in to vehicles with light tacky shades. What ever happened to the deep dark heavy metal flake blue, green, and charcoal silver. Where is the metal flake pearl white. Seriously metalic black, that paint just makes the car always look dirty. Black is supposed to be clear and shiny as a mirror. Then when you look at the low price concept vehicles they are definitely destined to fail. What happened to stream lined designs. What happened to the great body design engineers that did the body on the 02 SS camaro and the c5 vette, now were stuck with all these ugly cars. Atleast Toyota’s newest (2010 or 2011) ae86 corrolla coupe looks amazing. And I don’t even like Toyota. Why can’t we have people who do body design like that at GM.
William

Oct 8th, 2009

Steve, Because colors like deep dark heavy metal flake blue, green, and charcoal silver look really bad and tacky as clothing. When was the last time you saw someone wearing any of these colors that was not wearing a Halloween costume ??? What a designer wears has nothing to do with their level of talent and design ability.
Design must always strive to move forward, to try new things, to explore uncharted waters. If it did not, nothing in our visual world would change.
Steve, please try to keep in mind that everyone has an opinion and you are in the small minority with your love of streamlined designs and the 02 SS Camaro. All of the streamlined designs on the road look old compared to designs like the Cadillac CTS. As the 2002 SS Camaro, Nobody was buying them. Mustang was kicking Camaros butt. The new Camaro is a much better design !
When you speak of low price concept vehicles that are definitely destined to fail, what are you talking about ? Concept vehicles are built to gauge public reaction. There is nothing low priced about them. They are one of a kind, hand built works of art and craftsmanship.
And lastly, if you like the Toyota’s newest (2010 or 2011) ae86 corrolla coupe so much…go buy one. I will laugh at you every time I pass you on the street. It blends in to the sea of mediocrity.
Samantha New Designer Fashion

Dec 13th, 2009

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