Meet the man replacing Ian Callum at Jaguar

“I was very excited about taking over from Ian, and I sort of couldn't believe it, really,” says Jaguar design director Julian Thomson, tucked behind his desk – for the first time in a while – in the marque's new design studio. “I've been waiting in the wings for so long... it's something Ian loved doing so much, I sometimes wondered whether he was actually going to let go of it!”

When Thomson took over in Summer 2019, the world was a very different place. Plans for the facelifted F-Type were well underway for the launch the following year and his 280-strong team were busy transitioning to an all-new design studio in Gaydon. 

“I was particularly lucky because [the new job] happened to coincide with the opening of a new studio. Everything about our work was given a fresh start, which is really a reset button.

“I won't say we wanted to tear up the Ian Callum rule book necessarily, but there were things which we tentatively started doing, which we knew weren't allowed before. That was great fun for us and gave us a great burst of energy.” 

Despite the energetic start, Thomson and his team were forced apart in the spring as COVID-19 saw the designers switch their suave new surroundings for the familiarity of their homes. “You really start to miss the place and working with your colleagues – design is so interactive – it's about talking to people, discussing things and firing good and bad ideas around – you can only do so much when you're not face to face.

“This pandemic has affected the whole industry but on the whole, we have kept everything going as best we can. Our plans are all exactly the same, they haven't changed but we're interested to see if this does change the cars we design,” says the design boss. 

“There are indications that this will accelerate electric cars. A lot of people are buying cars now because of concerns of public transport but also, I guess, this period of reflection and self-examination about cleanliness and the environment has seen people wanting to make a strong statement with their car.

“We're still finding out more and more about electric cars and what the expectation is. It's true that you don't have a big engine and a long bonnet, but it's also true that there are, on the whole, very heavy... so it's not all good.”   

With Jaguar already heavily invested in the electric car space with a factory-backed Formula E team to run alongside its I-Pace road car operations, Thomson has the not-so-easy task of redefining the 98-year-old brand for the all-electric era. “The likes of Mercedes, Audi and BMW have really turned up the wick on their identity over the last few years, as a result of going into China,” he says. 

“Premium brands really do have to work very, very hard to establish their identity and their brand and their positioning... because that's what they've got left. 

“Design language is really, really important. It's just not enough to say I've done a really cool looking car, because there are some very credible designers working in Chinese companies now, and American start-ups doing very, very good work.”

Fending off competition from the Far East is not a new phenomenon for premium carmakers but an increasingly difficult challenge, with many leaving the established European marques for posts with newcomer carmakers. In 2018, Wayne Burgess, one of Jaguar's long-standing designers left to set up the UK Design and Innovation Studio for Chinese car giant Geely. With brands like Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and the makers of the new London taxi under its belt, the Chinese car group is hot on the heels of the automotive aristocracy.     

“Going forward, we have really, really got to make people understand what a Jaguar is, what it looks like, and what it stands for. So, in terms of the way that our vehicles look, we're not going to make them retro, but they will need to have a stronger identity in my view, and they will need to really tell a very compelling story about driving and about beauty and about luxury and about innovation,” insists Thomson. 

“Jag has always been about driving. They've never been about going crazy on the Nürburgring, but they've been about really enjoying the drive of the car, sometimes a bit selfishly. And I think that's what we're trying to do as a connection.” 

But designing something that sets itself apart is far from simple. With the impending arrival of autonomy threatening the thrill and feel of driving, and more models plugging unidentified needs and niches, car design is at an important juncture, particularly in the premium market. “I'm just wondering now, what are the opportunities – what are the things which haven't been done? We are really in a time where pretty much anything goes.

“There are so many different cars and so many different designs going on, which is good, but there is then less space to do something really, really different. [New designs] are so influenced by the internet, because everything's out there now – not just new cars, but other people doing design work. There's so much stuff out there. 

“I think a guy working on his own, on a kitchen table with a pen and paper, that's real creativity. But that’s one thing we’ve been to do in lockdown, is really step back from the general rush and all those influences... I really encourage people to do that. Going back to some basic ways of drawing and even painting, just to get them all to reset their creative starting point.”

Now starting to ease back into a (relatively) normal working pattern, Thomson and his team are plunged back into a new world, with new rules and expectations. With the demand for creativity in the car industry set to increase in line with even tougher competition, time will tell if the British marque can carve out a fresh and firm identity in the new world order.   

“I'm very pleased with some of the work we've done at home in our bedrooms. I've started drawing again myself. Sometimes you need to be away from everyone... you need that privacy and that state of mind to just step back from it and just take it easy. So it has had its benefits, but enough now – knuckling down again feels really nice!” he says with a smile.