KINGSPORT, Tenn., Nov. 22, 2006 – The answer to the fundamental incompatibility of auto companies obsessed with risk management operating in a consumer society newly infatuated with aesthetic perfection “is to deal with risk like they do in Las Vegas," says Chuck Pelly, founder and former president of Designworks USA and director of the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show's Design Challenge. "You have to establish a higher budget for design risk because the payoff, just like in Las Vegas, can be mammoth.”

The environmental theme of the design competition ("The Ultimate Green Car") is a "chance to re-evaluate and re-think the automobile," Pelly says. "Green is not just mileage. It's recyclability, safety, the whole act of making mobility more earth friendly. This is going to open up imagination in multiple ways – from mass transit to personal transportation." The LA Auto Show is Dec. 1-10, 2006.

Pelly has accumulated valuable insight over a lifetime of designing race cars, boats, snowmobiles, farm equipment, office furniture, packaging, cameras and cars for various companies including GM, Chrysler, American Motors, Mazda, Subaru and BMW. He covers a wide range of topics in a “Design Insights” interview on Eastman Chemical Company’s Eastman Innovation Lab Web site (www.EastmanInnovationLab.com) for designers and brand owners.

Pelly cites the Apple iPod as “the Holy Grail” of design -- the perfect example of the way consumers will reward companies that dare to be different and the reason why the philosophy of good design has to emanate from the CEO, not the creative team. "Products like the iPod symbolize what can happen when management and design work together."

He says design has reached a level of responsibility in corporations that it was not prepared for. “It was an enjoyable, intuitive and artistic profession that suddenly got thrown into the disciplined world of business. This is the designer's challenge: to grow the profession into a real integral part of business.”

The controversy over the BMW 7 Series "gives designers a chance to be braver" and allows consumers "to vent their opinions," according to Pelly.

"The nice thing was that BMW management stood by the design and said, ’Yes, it's different and, yes, some people may not like it. But it not only has a unique look, it has functions to boot.’ The public debate created a new medium, allowing something like blogs into the design of cars.”

Pelly sees Asians dominating future car design, predicting they will account for about 60 percent of the design chiefs at auto companies in 10 years.

"The reason for this is education and the cost of education and subsidized education," he explains. "In recent years, whether it's personal or government contributions, the Asians have had the ability to fund students at a higher level than the North Americans and the Europeans. There's also an enthusiasm and love for automotive design among Asian students. It's only logical that this will continue on into the industry."

Pelly co-founded the Design Academy, a design management consultancy based in Woodland Hills, Calif., in 2000 and works closely with design schools in the Pacific Rim. "I find that there are geniuses in the most unlikely places," he says. "And it doesn't matter where they were trained or came from, it's just innate talent."

Pelly admits that it's difficult to measure design in an accurate, meaningful way. "There are a number of guidelines we can use, but the challenge is that you are measuring emotion."

One possible breakthrough may come from work being done by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), in conjunction with the Salk Institute, to measure biometrically the mind's reaction to different kinds of spaces. "They are actually able to measure emotional responses in the brain," Pelly says. "If we can pursue measurement of human reaction, we'll have one more piece in trying to establish design metrics."

Eastman is a major supplier of coatings additives to the transportation and electronics industry. The Eastman Innovation Lab Web site features a special section on how Eastman Cellulose Esters and Adhesion Promoters can both protect and enhance surface finishes for cars, laptops and cell phones.