The future of DS Automobiles' interiors is revealed with the M.I 21

• New interior design manifesto, M.i. 21, demonstrating the future of DS Automobiles interiors will make its public debut at the Révélations exhibition, Paris, from 7 – 11th June 2023
• The manifesto is looking to completelyrethink the requirements of interiors to allow for more space and light, and to make them more immersive and comfortable.
• M.i. 21 looks to a future without screens in favour of projections onto opaque material to enhance the feel and design of the interior of future DS models
• DS Automobiles has also revealed a new website for the DS Design Studio to allow for a broader exploration of the M.i. 21 manifesto

DS DESIGN STUDIO is unveiling M.i. 21 as a way to showcase the future of interiors from DS Automobile cars. M.i. 21 will be on show to the public for the first time at the Révélations exhibition, Paris, from 7 – 11 June 2023.

M.i. 21 represents the joint work of the design and product teams around new concepts, original shapes, and technological developments. These developments will be implemented in DS cars by the end of the decade, and will feature redesigned ergonomics, HMI (Human-Machine Interface) with additional developments in colours, materials and finishes (CMF).

Unlike a concept vehicle, a design manifesto incorporates regulatory, industrial, and economic demands to ensure far more efficient production. This means that M.i. 21 can act as a vital communication tool between the engineering and management groups at DS Automobiles, and as a creative stimulus for the DS Design team based at the DS DESIGN STUDIO, Paris.

“Révélations is an event dedicated to expertise, craft and the excellence of craftspeople. We have been involved there since 2019. It is an opportunity to meet an audience sensitive to the avant-garde, beautiful materials, style, expertise and design. It is interesting to garner its impressions, feelings and comments, like a real-life test with experts. Our participation in Révélations also gives us the opportunity to communicate our DS x MÉTIERS D'ART design competition, which allows us to project ourselves even further.”
Thierry Metroz, DS Automobiles Design Director

M.i. 21 - The Future of DS interiors

Designed by Thomas Bouveret – Head of Interior Design, Vincent Lobry – Head of CMF Design, and their teams, the M.i. 21 manifesto reinterprets the language for tomorrow's interiors supporting the art of travel. This includes:

• Light
  Light is a key contributor to the in-car experience and contributes to a driver's well-being in the cockpit. M.i 21 will be utilising both direct and indirect light sources to give lightness to the features and bring a new dimension to the materials, it will be adaptive, intelligent, and connected to its environment. The light circles in the doors enhance the materials within the door panels.
• Space
  In order to free up more room within the cabin, the architecture of the interior has allowed more space to be generated by making the dashboard float and pushing it forwards. The floor is cleared up and redesigned, without a central tunnel or console, and the glass surfaces are increased to offer more space, freedom, and tranquility inside. The storage is inspired by the world of furniture, and a subtle balance between materials, the sensation of touch, and the distribution of volumes takes place to provide a feeling of well-being.
• Sound
  As part of M.i. 21, the DS Design team chose to finish to the seemingly undending one-upmanship of sound systems to gain space. The work illustrated in the manifesto is both more visually rewarding and more in harmony with a fluid and refined style. All sound technology has been brought together on a central feature, truly iconic in its design, its positioning in the cabin, and the lighting that accompanies it. The acoustic quality of DS interiors allows sound to become part of the journey: it can amplify the experience or disappear to bring a sense of opulence.
• Immersion
  M.i. 21 demonstrates how the human-machine relationship can be redesigned. Exploring how to make interiors less intrusive and more ‘magical’ began on the DS AERO SPORT LOUNGE in 2020, where information was projected onto satin cotton rather than shown on intrusive screens. The disappearance of screens was intended to reduce mental overload and limit information to only what is required. The race for the size or number of screens is a strong trend among many car manufacturers. But, turned off, these screens have no real aesthetic value. The idea is to find technology that gives the expected information without making any concessions in quality or sensory appeal. With the M.i. 21 manifesto, an innovative solution is being tested by projecting relevant information onto a strip that can be made opaque to display information or become transparent to uncover materials. The only sacrifice to screens are those located in the doors and devoted to rear-facing cameras. The whole system is controlled by voice or by a remote control system located in the central armrest.
• The artistic dimension
  One objective pursued by the M.i. 21 manifesto is to go further in the offering of bespoke solutions for customers enhanced by a customisable work of art, adaptable to each customer’s taste. The absence of a speaker opens up space in the doors. This space is reinvested to create more storage space and to emphasise and differentiate the cockpit, with a signature and strong graphic design.

Questions to Thierry METROZ, DS Automobiles Design Director

What is a manifesto, what are the differences to a concept car?

“A manifesto is a working tool, a real accelerator of change that we use to reflect on the future. Physically, it is a model that normally has to stay secret, because it incorporates a lot of our future.

These models are a link between our vision and our projects in development. They help guide our work and share this research for the brand with the group’s engineering and management. We can also carry out tests to measure the level of attractiveness.

As it is an internal research tool, our teams use it to unleash their creativity while integrating the fact that most of the elements must be able to be put into production. And this is where the big difference lies with a concept car that remains barely, if at all, capable of being manufactured.

Last point, the time factor is important, with a 100% digital design it takes less than 6 months between the first sketch and the finalised model.

The manifestos crystallise our thoughts on a future product right now and gives the roadmap.”

What is the message from this manifesto and does it represent the interior of a future model?

“The M.i. 21 manifesto that we are showing at Révélations is important to the history of our brand. It underlines an approach of openness on our part. We are sharing our creative process and vision with a wide audience of connoisseurs, as much in the automotive world as in the world of craft.

We are experiencing a historic transformation of automotive interiors. New architectures related to electric platforms, autonomous driving modes, the arrival of artificial intelligence and, most importantly, the desire of our customers to live a different experience are central to our thinking. The M.i. 21 manifesto illustrates these profound changes, an opportunity for us to share a unique vision of the French art of travel.”

DS DESIGN STUDIO.PARIS, behind the scenes of design 

“We want to take more of the general public behind the scenes, like a chef would invite his clientele into the kitchen. Our first motivation is to share our passion with visitors to the site, who only see a part of our designs in our showrooms and occasionally at shows. We want to explain to as many people as possible the genesis of the design of our concept cars and production models. In the LAB section of the DS DESIGN STUDIO.PARIS website, visitors will discover some designs they won't be expecting to see from a car design centre.”

Thierry METROZ, DS Automobiles Design Director.

The Révélations exhibition is an international biennial for craft and design held in Paris, at the Grand Palais Ephémère.

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