The fully wrapped Škoda Enyaq would be used in an around onsemi's offices in the Czech Republic to demonstrate onsemi's commitment to building a brighter future with the intelligent technology they are creating for battery electric vehicles.
Visual design by Brian Miller for onsemi. All photos courtesy onsemi.
If you are not already familiar the Škoda brand, VW subsidiary Škoda is an automobile manufacturer located in the Czech Republic with a long tradition of creating some of Europe's most advanced vehicles. While onsemi is a leading semiconductor manufacturer with a global presence. Many of the products you use daily contain chips engineered and manufactured by onsemi. You will also discover onsemi chips within many of the safety systems found in today's most popular vehicles. In addition, when it comes to EVs, onsemi's chips offer higher efficiency and performance on the road, plus faster charging at EV charging stations. They say "Intelligent Technology. Better Future," and they mean it.
It's easy to fall into the trap of visual cliché when designing a project like this. onsemi manufactures semiconductors so it would be easy to splash the car with images of circuitry and call it done. However this would not be effective design. The first step to truly effective design is to ask yourself, what is the story onsemi wants the Škoda Enyaq electric SUV to share with those who encounter it?
With that in mind I established a few important touchstones to ground the design with care and purpose. First, the design should feel vibrant and youthful to ensure the EV draws attention and is well received when appearing on the European city streets and highways. Next, the design should utilize the onsemi corporate colors of slate gray and onsemi orange in a modern and exciting way while creating continuity with existing brand visuals. Finally the design should offer an effective call to action for anyone coming across the Enyaq while it was parked or plugged into an EV charging station.
The vendor who would be wrapping the vehicle was able to provide me with a simple vector template of the Škoda Enyaq SUV to determine the placement of the graphics. This would be helpful to ensure elements like a company logo and hashtag could be placed on specific body panels and not be cut-off or cropped oddly. The vendor was also able to inform me the lower cladding around the vehicle was textured black plastic and would not be wrapped. This level of cooperation between designer and vendor is critical to the success of a project like this one.
Using the template as my guide I also researched photos of the Škoda Enyaq SUV to have a clear understanding of how the vehicle looks in three dimensions. I also paid careful attention to how light reflected off various panels and angles to inform my placements of important elements like the onsemi logo and QR code.
Since this electric SUV is meant to be driven on and off road I took some inspiration from the world of rally racing and motorsports. I decided to create pattern for the Škoda Enyaq which would echo the types of graphics seen on rally cars yet have a high tech forward thinking look on the road. Using shades of slate gray I arranged a series of large and small diagonal lines into a pattern somewhat resembling a tartan. The diagonal elements convey a kinetic sense of forward motion, even when the car is standing still.
Next I optimized the placements on the onsemi logo to fill as much of the front doors and roof panel as possible. The upper swage line starts at the headlights and terminates at the taillights where it is slightly upturned. I placed the hashtag, "#weAREonsemi" to follow this upturned angle and incorporate it neatly into the body styling. I also added the QR code leading to onsemi.com to the rear corner panel paying close attention to the seams between body panels on the template to ensure it was not sliced or trimmed in any way.
The final touches of the design were to create complimentary orange details along the bottom of the Enyaq. These details further serve to reduce the visual height of the SUV while creating additional tension from front to rear, as well as enhancing the sense of forward motion. I also added a slim orange strip across the rear of the Enyaq where the swage line kicks up to echo the appearance of the type of rear spoiler one might see on a rally car. This orange detail was heavily influenced by the classic Porsche 911 Carrera RS ducktail spoiler.
The splashes of orange ensure the the Škoda Enyaq stand out on the road as something special, something to be noticed yet limiting the orange to small accent areas ensure these details are effective and purposeful.
Škoda Enyaq battery electric SUV plugs-in at an EV charging station in Europe.
The finished design debuted on the Škoda Enyaq SUV onsemi drove from their offices in the Czech Republic to the PCIM Europe trade show event at Nuremberg, Germany where the car drew a favorable response from attendees.
Visual design by Brian Miller for onsemi.
All photos © onsemi and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of onsemi. All rights reserved.