The challenge advanced by FPT Industrial was an apparently impossible one: to transform an object (the engine) which is traditionally hidden by hoods and bodywork into an icon of style and elegance, making it recognizable even at first glance.
It was a challenge that was accepted and brilliantly met by the students at the Turin site of IED, European Institute of Design, the prestigious school founded in 1966 which works in the field of education and research in the Design, Fashion, Visual Arts and Communication disciplines.
And so, from late October 2019, various teams made up of two IED students and a company tutor plunged into the world of FPT Industrial engines, seeking to understand the soul and secrets, but above all seeking to see it with different eyes in order to find creative inspiration, to “break” some rules and perhaps to create some new ones. And, according to Egle Panzella, FPT Industrial's Brand Equity, Sustainability and Heritage manager and the person in charge of the project, the results far exceeded all expectations.
The Texture Team, drawing inspiration from the animal kingdom, the transmission and the FPT Industrial logo, created a series of high aesthetic impact patterns on the “skin” of the engines that makes them immediately recognizable and incredibly trendy. The Label Team worked on direct user-engine communication, personalizing elements such as the oil dipstick and creating a label in recycled plastic with a QR code for immediate connection to intriguing multimedia content. The Shape Team decided to transform the engines on display at the show into true works of modern art, involving artists the likes of Cao Fei, a digital art guru, with the goal of transforming performance into signs and installations capable of communicating with the public and the exhibit spaces. Last, but not least, the Color Team proposed decorating a few key parts of the engine with heat-sensitive paint so that, as the temperature rises, previously invisible details and content is revealed, providing strong external significance to what is happening inside the engine.
These teams were awarded in the presence of top management from FPT Industrial and the CNH Industrial Design Center.