Domagoj Dukec has led the BMW Design team since April 2019. This
means the Frankfurt-born Croat is responsible for design at the BMW
core brand. Over the last nine years, he has worked as chief designer
for various wings of the BMW Group – most recently BMW i and BMW M,
which remain under his leadership umbrella within BMW Group Design.
“My job is to orchestrate these three
areas of the company so they link together to create a strong image,”
says Dukec, who has amassed many years of expertise at international
design studios. In his role at BMW he leads a team of over 100
designers working to enhance and redevelop the design language of
current and future BMW brand models. As an experienced automotive
designer, he can call on a highly refined repertoire of approaches. He
views the design process as a management task and team endeavour in
equal measure. “I work with flat hierarchies, giving a lot of
responsibility to each designer within the team,” emphasises Dukec,
who put down his design roots in the automotive industry at an early
stage. “They should all see themselves as a key elements in the solution.”
His focus: design as an engine.
Aged just 13, Domagoj Dukec was clear in is mind that his future lay
in automotive design. As a schoolboy, he was regularly driven by his
father to Pforzheim, where he presented sketches to the university’s
School of Design. His dedication left an enduring impression, and as a
young guest student he gained the initial insights he later built upon
in full-time studies there. During this period, he spent all his
vacation time on internships with various car manufacturers. This
taught him how as a designer you are responsible not just for the
aesthetic and functional execution of a product, but for its
commercial success as well. After spells at renowned studios in
Barcelona, São Paolo and Paris and 13 years in automotive design at
brands including VW and Citroën, Dukec finally answered BMW’s call to
Munich in 2010. In 2013 he took over as Head of the Exterior Design
team. He describes BMW as the pinnacle of his profession, the place he
has always wanted to be.
His mindset: unlock creative power.
“Automotive design is a special
challenge, because you’re bound to the industry, have very clear
requirements and need to think into the future.” As chief designer at
BMW, Domagoj Dukec heads a team of designers, modellers and other
specialists charged with setting up design frameworks and initiating
change. “I like solving puzzles,” he says about his work, which he
goes about in a deliberately entrepreneurial way. He emphasises how,
for him, creativity above all means putting the right conditions in
place: “I like to do the best I can for a product, with a positive
mentality in the team and the optimum process behind the scenes.”
Dukec’s design teams develop model ranges for BMW, BMW i and BMW M.
This pooling of responsibility helps to focus the design of the brands
squarely on modern products with strong characters.
Perpetual motion: embarking on a new chapter in automotive design.
“BMW as a company is most keenly
defined by the three brands BMW, BMW i and BMW M. The models we’re now
developing are even more clearly differentiated, which will continue
to strengthen the unmistakable character of BMW through design,”
reiterates Dukec. “After all, design is successful when it has its own
identity.” He is firmly convinced that future-focused vehicle design
should not only provoke aesthetically, but also demand cultural
reappraisal. “So as a designer, you need to be prepared to take a
risk,” says the 44-year-old. “Customers should be able to sense this
energy in the product.”
Background: The inspiration that drives him.
Domagoj Dukec describes himself as an “emotional rationalist”,
pointing to inspiration from the art world – figures such as
Michelangelo and Karl Lagerfeld. The extreme, daring facets to these
two creative geniuses fascinate him as much as the authenticity and
the clarity of thought and deed in their work. As an efficient
thinker, the chief designer employs these principles day by day in his
designs – always with the aim of making those around him smile. Dukec
cites cooking as one of his passions, and he enjoys the immediate
reaction to what he produces in the kitchen. The complex process of
vehicle development, however, often lasts several years, which means
he has to wait rather longer to see how his automotive creations are
received. Both in the office and at home, his sense of joy lies at the
heart of everything he does.