Christophe Ferreira da Silva
Christophe Ferreira is living in Göteborg, Sweden and has been design manager for exterior components at Polestar since 2022. He is responsible for lighting – the famous light signature - and wheels development from design to production. He has 19 years of experience in automotive design at European OEM’s like Renault and Stellantis.
What is the vision that you pursue through your work?
As an exterior component design manager I am in charge of the famous « attention to details » that is a game changer nowadays in automotive design. Especially on lighting signature that is a big part of the brand image and makes the car recognizable , as strong as a logo could be.
What cultural or historical roots, or what other disciplines or areas of society, have most influenced your profession, in your opinion?
I grew up close to Paris and have always been able to follow art courses during my childhood that gave me the tools and what I aimed for a professional career. My passion for cars (Ferrari especially), shared with my brother, led me into this job. But in the end, it is all about the creative process that gives me the most satisfaction, that’s why I also grew up creating music, and still do alongside my design work.
What are the main changes you have observed in your profession over time, and what challenges might arise in the coming decades? How do they reflect societal and technological transformations?
Within the last 20 years, I have seen a big evolution in my field of work. At the beginning of my career, it was all about car body design and sculptural perfection. Since then, so many talented designers have emerged and with design work becoming more popular, that having a « perfect car body » is today’s minimum requirement. This is why pushing the limits and giving so much attention into details makes my work so special. I think we have reached a peak and we are now switching in the « too much » world, screens everywhere, bigger and bigger, even on the exterior body … so it’s our mission as designers to balance all this trends and make them fit the brand image of our company so that our creations stay beautiful and don’t look indigestible.
Is there a book, a film, or a work of art that you feel perfectly captures the essence or dilemmas of your profession?
« Auto and design » magazine is I would say our bible and it’s a career accomplishment to be featured inside.
Imagine you could create a capsule that would travel through the universe and time, what would you like to put in it?
It’s funny because my last music production (verso noir) is a time capsule, and my goal was to send messages to my daughter in the future so she could listen to it when she is in need of comfort and reassurance. So I already did it, sending love trough time and music is my vessel.