Embodying a New Design Philosophy for French Cars

At the pavilion exhibited by French automaker Renault at TOKYO DESIGNERS WEEK 2014, titled "Touch! NEW RENAULT DESIGN," an installation allowed visitors to experience its human-centric design firsthand through sight and touch.

Fundamentally, Renault has been rethinking its design strategy from the ground up since welcoming Laurence van den Acker as Chief Designer in 2009. This involved a fundamental re-evaluation of its corporate philosophy, Human Centric, which places people at the core of its product development.

The result of this effort is the "Cycle of Life" theme, which divides life into six key stages, and based on this, various concept cars have been unveiled worldwide. A common design element across all these models is the pursuit of natural, curved lines, inspired by the fact that the human body has no straight lines, thus harmonizing with people. Renault expresses this through three keywords: "Simple," "Sensual," and "Warm."


Four models, clearly inheriting these concepts, have already been commercialized from this concept, and two of them are now available in Japan. The car used in the installation is one of these: the "Lutecia," the first production model to adopt the styling based on the new design strategy.

Upon entering Renault's pavilion, visitors are greeted by a white Lutecia in the dim light. A projection mapping show, themed around water, is projected onto this car as a screen for approximately three minutes. Accompanied by ethereal background music, the visuals depict flowing, dripping, and mist-like water, and when a finger touches the body, it leaves a trail of light like fireflies.

Both the mapping and the touch-activated trails are projected onto the Lutecia's body, which is composed of smooth curves, resulting in a dynamic and ever-changing display. This naturally draws attention to the car's complex form, allowing visitors to experience Renault's new design strategy not just visually, but also tactilely.


The Lutecia is not a luxury car or a special design-focused vehicle; it is an affordable, mass-produced model available in Japan for just over two million yen. In essence, this ordinary car fully embodies a distinct design strategy composed of sensual curves, clearly demonstrating Renault's commitment to design.

At the press conference for this event, following the greeting by Mr. Okoku, President of Renault Japon, Mr. Christophe Dupont, Head of Renault Design Asia Studio, also took the stage. We are also publishing an insightful interview with him separately, where he discusses the exhibition and Renault's design in greater depth.

This year's TOKYO DESIGNERS WEEK runs until November 3rd (Monday, holiday). When visiting the venue, the Renault Pavilion is definitely one exhibition not to be missed.

TOKYO DESIGNERS WEEK 2014
Venue: Meiji Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue Pavilion Exhibition, 2-3 Kasumigaokamachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Period: Saturday, October 25, 2014 - Monday, November 3, 2014, 11:00-21:00 (until 20:00 on the final day)
Admission: [Same-day tickets] Adults: ¥3,000, University Students: ¥2,000, High School Students: ¥1,500, Junior High School Students: ¥1,000
[Advance tickets] Adults: ¥2,500