Category: STORIES & INSPIRATION


  • Rivian at Autodesk University 2023: Moving fast in a changing industry

    You may know Rivian from our earlier feature about the incredible work they’re doing in the EV market. Their R1T pick-up truck and R1S SUV offer adventurous drivers an electric option. Designed in Alias and visualized with VRED, these EVs are a solution to shift consumer mindset and inspire other companies to change the way…


  • Women in tech: A conversation with Silverdraft CEO Amy Gile

    Amy Gile’s natural curiosity has made for an interesting – and sometimes unexpected – career. Working in the entertainment industry as an actor and producer, Amy began to see a place where she could make a real difference: visual technology. With Dr. Srinidhi Varadarajan, Amy developed a supercomputer to support the demands of rendering, animation,…


  • Student shows, industry shifts, VR: A Conversation with Car Design News, part 2

    Earlier this spring, Ananda Arasu and I spent some time with James McLachlan, Editor for Car Design News (CDN). In Part 1 of that conversation, we discuss sustainability, customer demand, the CDN Review Book, and more. In Part 2, we’re shifting from legacy designers to new grads, a look at the current job market, and…


  • Performance partner: Genesis Design on its philosophy, process and preferred tools

    Who is Genesis Design? Genesis Design is an owner-managed and independent full-service design agency. Founded by Rainer Mueller and Dirk Juergens in 2002, Genesis Design helps brands express their value through evocative and emotional design. Genesis works in the automotive and industrial design fields, bringing life and soul into the conceptual and creative process. With…


  • “Time is of the essence”: How Rivian EVs are changing the way we think about utility vehicles

    What happens when world-class design and visualization software are used by a start-up driven to revolutionize SUVs and pick-up trucks? Rivian. A newer OEM with a keen focus on sustainability, Rivian wanted to create something that was entirely new in the EV space. Their R1T pick-up truck and R1S SUV have been designed to offer…


  • People, technology, future: AIF 2023 design studio keynote

    The perfect workflow What does the perfect design studio workflow look like? This provocative question by ShotGrid PM Brandon Tasker opened the 2023 AIF Design Studio Keynote. Some prospective answers: agile, freeform, flexible, works effectively, enables collaboration, shares information, captures and organizes data and decisions automatically, ensures access to the best tools, supports the work…


  • Group of people standing at an exhibition of technology booths.

    Hands-on, person-to-person: AIF 2023 exhibition

    The 2024 Automotive Innovation Forum in Frankfurt, Germany gave us more chances to explore Autodesk solutions, customer innovations, and partner insights. Thanks to the incredibly hard work of the technical sales, marketing and product teams who contributed to the amazing expo. We had: Exhibition overview Discover Alias & Meet the Experts Alias User Experience, future…


  • Maground + Mainworks: New high-end, image-based environments for VRED

    WHAT ARE IMAGE-BASED ENVIRONMENTS FOR VRED? These new, high-end full-CG, photography-based environments have changed the game for the automotive design industry. Photography-based fullCG environments give the highest quality output, resulting in stunning levels of detail and photorealism. HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM HDR ENVIRONMENTS? HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, a technique used to capture and…


  • The future is design: A conversation with Car Design News, part 1

    Ananda Arasu and I spent some time with James McLachlan, Editor for Car Design News. We talked through a wide range of pressing issues, including sustainability, customer demand, the CDN Review Book and more. Listen here for Part 1 of our conversation, scroll down for more detail and images, and stay tuned for Part 2.…


  • AIF 2023: Registration is live!

    The Automotive Innovation Forum is a premier automotive industry event focused on advancing design, automation and manufacturing technology. We invite you to join us and the international community of industry leaders and share your vision on the future of design, automation, and manufacturing. Registration is now live! Visit autodesk.com/aif to secure your spot at AIF…


  • Canada’s automotive future: APMA reveals Project Arrow prototype at CES 2023

    We’ve been following the Canadian automotive design competition, Project Arrow, since early 2020—covering the winning design from the Carleton University team, as well as the Autodesk Technology Centers and the automotive product team that supported them in refining that design. With the support of the Autodesk Alias product team, students were able to realize their…


  • Building an industry ecosystem: The Domeble-Symetri Student Awards

    The DSSAs are highlighting the creativity of recent graduates studying 3D design, CGI and VR.


  • Save the date: AIF 2023 announced

    We are excited to announce our 2023 Automotive Innovation Forum (AIF), taking place May 10-11 in Frankfurt, Germany. This is your opportunity to join industry leaders as they discuss the trends and forces shaping the automotive industry of tomorrow. What does that look like? AIF 2023 is also our chance to share how Autodesk and…


  • Autodesk automotive and industrial design: Catalysts for community

    It’s been a great year for Autodesk and the Design Studio team—a return to live events, new opportunities and initiatives—and some now-familiar challenges—continuing hybrid work, adopting more digital tools for collaboration and developing more resilient teams. Our focus for the year has been to serve as a catalyst for our community. We’ve worked hard throughout…


  • Autodesk automotive, fall ROUND UP

    What we’re excited about, inspired by and looking forward to. Here’s a glimpse at some of the ideas that were passed around our product team this fall in team chats and conversations.