The role of in-house automotive designers in the automotive industry in Turkey

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Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Endüstriyel Tasarım Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2013

Öğrenci: BARIŞ YAZICI

Danışman: GÜLAY FATMA HASDOĞAN

Özet:

This thesis investigates the roles of automotive designers currently working in the design departments of companies in the automotive industry in Turkey. The thesis aims to give a full account of the roles that in-house automotive designers currently partake in companies, how they are situated in the companies and their relationships to other participants in the design process. The study includes face-to-face interviews conducted with a total of 24 participants, including in-house automotive designers, automotive design managers, and automotive industry experts, on the subject of automotive designer roles and other factors that influence the situation of the automotive designer in automotive industry in Turkey. Various roles of automotive designers in the companies in the automotive industry in Turkey were identified. However, a clearly defined and accepted role for the automotive designer is not present in the automotive industry. The visions and goals of the automotive industry in Turkey require the presence of a strong automotive design presence for the automotive industry in Turkey to compete in the global automotive industry. The study suggests that the role of the automotive designer needs to be defined as a creator and as a strategy definer for these visions and goals to be achievable by the automotive industry in Turkey. The study concludes with strategic recommendations for the automotive industry in Turkey to achieve higher success through automotive design and automotive designers.