Blake Avery
At the 2025 Automotive Innovation Forum (AIF25), the Design Studio Keynote offered a clear and compelling vision for how industrial designers can adapt to the rapid evolution of tools, processes, and expectations.
In a world where timelines are tighter, teams are more distributed, and technology is constantly changing, one thing remains essential: supporting creativity without compromise. This session showcased how Autodesk is re-imagining its tools — especially Alias and VRED — to meet the moment.
Adaptability Through Collaboration
At the heart of the keynote was the idea that today’s design studios are no longer isolated islands of creativity. They are collaborative ecosystems, where engineers, visual designers, CMF specialists, and leadership must work together — often across time zones, disciplines, and tools.
Autodesk’s design solutions are evolving to support this reality. Instead of siloed workflows, the tools presented are built for fluid collaboration, non-destructive iteration, and cross-functional integration.
Watch the Design Studio Keynote
Capabilities and Features Highlighted in the Keynote
Here are some of the key updates and capabilities showcased in the session:
Alias: Enabling Connected, Collaborative Design
- Live Referencing: Designers can now link and update geometry across projects and departments in real time. This fosters true parallel workflows and removes the need for manual file duplication or rework.
- Multi-user workflows: Alias supports concurrent collaboration, allowing large teams to co-create surfaces without disrupting each other’s progress.
- Improved interoperability: Integration with downstream tools ensures that Alias models move smoothly from design into visualization and engineering — without loss of fidelity or intent.
VRED: Real-Time Visualization and Immersive Design Reviews
- Seamless Alias–VRED integration: Changes made in Alias can be reflected instantly in VRED, supporting early and continuous validation of design intent.
- Improved asset referencing and version control: Teams can now manage complex visualization scenarios with ease, even as models evolve.
- Cloud-based review workflows: Stakeholders can participate in design decisions from anywhere, helping accelerate approvals and align cross-functional teams.
New AI Capabilities
- AI-assisted design exploration: Autodesk is introducing tools that use AI to generate design variants, optimize surface quality, and reduce tedious manual tasks — freeing designers to focus on creative decisions.
- Smart feature recognition and surface suggestions: The AI can understand form intent and recommend actions or edits based on learned patterns, accelerating modeling workflows.
Watch more: See the Alias 2026 What’s New video for details
Watch more: See the Alias 2026 What’s New video for details
A Message of Empowerment
One of the strongest messages in the keynote was that designers shouldn’t have to choose between speed and vision. Tools must enable creativity, not constrain it. Whether it’s through AI-driven enhancements or real-time referencing, Autodesk is focused on giving designers control, context, and clarity — so they can deliver bold ideas at scale.
Design is becoming more integrated, more collaborative, and more human. Our tools must evolve with us.
Supporting the Creative Flow
The Design Studio Keynote at AIF25 made it clear: the future of automotive design depends on adaptability. And that means empowering creative professionals with tools that support flow, connect teams, and amplify vision. With continuous enhancements to Alias, VRED, and AI-assisted modeling, Autodesk is positioning design studios not just to keep pace — but to lead.
More to See
We will be sharing more hightlights here with videos from AIF customer sessions, and technical deep dives from Autodesk experts.
All of these sessions plus presentations from the AIF25 Digital Factory track are now available for streaming:
https://boards.autodesk.com/automotive-innovation-forum
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