Ex-BMW creative to head design at Ford’s London Design Enterprise

A former BMW designer, Henrik Fisker, has been appointed by the Ford Motor Company to oversee its London Design Enterprise, which opens in the autumn.

Fisker has also been appointed by Aston Martin as design director. The double appointment is effective from 1 September and Ford insists his dual role will not conflict.

The London Design Enterprise is expected to open in September, according to a Ford Motor Company spokesman. It will house a team of 30 designers, exploring new ideas in product design and marketing strategies for the company’s brands, including those in the Premier Automotive Group.

PAG is an umbrella organisation, owned by Ford Motor Company, supervising the Volvo, Lincoln, Mercury, Land Rover, Mazda, Aston Martin and Jaguar brands.

‘The roles won’t clash because a lot of the work Fisker will do at the London Design Enterprise will cross over into work for Aston Martin,’ says the spokesman.

Meanwhile, Ford of Europe is investing $4.5m (£3.1m) in virtual reality ‘powerwall’ design technology to improve the quality of emerging products and reduce the time-to-market.

The system is capable of real-time image manipulation. It will be installed at Ford’s design centres at Dunton, Essex and Merkenich in Germany by the end of June 2002.