“How can you think freely if you already know everything?” With this question, Marco Pavone leaps from his skateboard. “I am a car guy, but I don’t take inspiration from cars. More from life: sport, architecture, landscapes, shapes – like this skateboard here, or cool trainers.” He smiles, adding: “Keeping your mind clear for the job is an intelligent approach.” The Head of Volkswagen Exterior Design mounts his skateboard again, just as dynamically as he jumped off, and takes it for a spin. The skate park is still empty, the first rays of the sun are just starting to break through. Marco is in high spirits.
“I sometimes think:
Wow, we’re designing the future!”
At Volkswagen, designing a new model always involves a large team. That was no different in the case of the new Golf: designers from a diverse range of disciplines helped to shape the car and contributed to the design of the Golf with their own individual skills, experience and passions. We spent a day with two such designers, discovering what moves them, what inspires them, and what drives them. “People shaping the Golf”, part 2 – Koukou Nian and Marco Pavone on the road in Wolfsburg.
“I don’t know how he does it, but Marco is always so passionate, so fit, and always full of energy. It is unbelievable,” says Koukou Nian with a hearty laugh. The light designer worked with Marco on the new Golf, as part of the exterior design team. The job is a childhood dream for Marco: “I sometimes think: Wow, we’re designing the future! I have to be awake, as an inspiration to others.”
And he is – as Koukou confirms. “Marco always has good ideas and helps to understand things differently.” At the moment, however, she is stood here at the skate park with her skateboard under her arm, hoping to see a few tricks and moves from Marco. After all, this is why Koukou dragged herself out of bed at such an early hour and made her way to the Allerpark in Wolfsburg: to find out what inspires her colleague away from the design studio.
It is a long time since Koukou has stood on a board, and she is clearly enjoying herself. Both laugh as they try out a few tricks on their skateboards – a good team, here too. You can sense that they both know each other well, value each other, gel, and simply have a lot of fun together. It is this team spirit that stands out in their work: “That is the advantage of an international team: everyone brings something from their world to the table. I bring something from my Chinese culture and mindset – and Marco adds his Brazilian temperament,” says Koukou, with a smile. Marco nods: “This new way of thinking, which Koukou has, is very inspirational!”
Their unusual routes to Volkswagen Design are another thing they have in common. Koukou Nian studied German, then worked as an interpreter at Volkswagen in China. It was whilst doing this job that she realised: “Design is the coolest job in the automobile industry. The head of design impressed me: very passionate, always very stylish, creative. I wanted to have a job I was passionate about, like her – so I studied Transportation Design.” Koukou has been at Volkswagen Design since 2017. She looks across at the lime green Golf with satisfaction: she was behind the graphics for its projector light. “I wanted to be a designer, because I want to see my own work on the streets. I am mega proud to see the car here now!”
A passion for design is something that Marco Pavone has had since he was a child in São Paulo: his brother José Carlos and he used to sketch cars, even at a young age. Later on, Marco wrote letters to Volkswagen do Brasil, while his father send the sketches to the design studio. “We immediately received an answer from the head designer! We took his comments on board, and sent the revised sketches back. It was a real exchange,” Marco recalls. “As such, we have had a connection with Volkswagen since childhood.” This was followed by an internship – the twins studied design. Marco moved to Germany in 2005. He has been Head of Exterior Design since 2017 and designed the new Golf. “Incidentally, my brother is now the head of the design studio at Volkswagen do Brasil – that’s life.”
What Marco gets from Sport, Koukou gets from drawing: sketches, drawings, illustrations. “Just being among nature, watching and drawing. Then my head works automatically, only differently, the subconscious saves things away. And when I need inspiration, there it is.” Koukou enjoys sitting outside, by water or in a cafe. But she also likes spending time at Autostadt Wolfsburg, where Koukou and Marco have now arrived after their skateboarding adventures. Over a coffee together on the terrace of “Brot”, she sketches Marco in no time at all. After just a few strokes, he is already recognisable.
“I like drawing quickly, as people are dynamic and emotional. It is important to portray and record the soul,” says Koukou. “I try to do the same with a car: that also has character, poise, gestures.” Marco agrees. “Every car has a theme, its own signature. Like the Beetle, the Golf, and ultimately people too!” Marco is impressed. He immediately recognises himself from Koukou’s drawing and enthusiastically browses through her colourful sketchbook.
The exterior designer draws shapes in the air with his hands. “They are the unmistakable lines, the main theme of the car. Everything we develop has to have character. You see it and know: ah, that’s a Golf.”