In May 2020, the Nissan Latin America Design Studio shared a post on Instagram about a competition for designers and artists titled “Imagine a More Exciting Future” set in the year 2355. All forms of creativity were welcomed, as long as they respected Nissan’s design language, identity, and culture. Participants from around the world submitted ideas featuring different styles, characteristics, functions, and design fields.
Gabriel Teixeira Vieira, a member of the Dassault Systèmes LATAM technical team, joined the competition and made it into the Top 3 in the Best Automotive Design Concept category. His idea was based on a fast-delivery vehicle for urban environments. It featured a sleek, aerodynamic design, a dedicated cargo space, and the ability to meet various transportation needs. The vehicle was designed to be 100% electric and fully automated, focusing on electric vehicle technology and autonomous driving capabilities. The initial 2D technical sketches from different viewpoints were the first step in developing this concept and helped it become one of the top three designs in the competition.
After achieving this result, the LATAM technology engineering team challenged Gabriel to elevate the concept into a full product experience project. This meant transforming the 2D design into a 3D project using tools from the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. A new challenge began as Gabriel brought the design to life through the 3DEXPERIENCE Creative Design workflow. He started by converting the concept into a 3D model within the 3DEXPERIENCE environment. The 3D sketching phase was created using CATIA Natural Sketch. To better visualize the idea, the original 2D references and side-view sketches were used, helping to create unique design lines while maintaining Nissan’s visual identity from the very beginning.
Tools such as Curve Trace played an important role in defining and building the vehicle’s curves. With projection techniques, the design model evolved into a full 3D form, making surface modeling and detailing more accurate, simpler, and clearer.
During the 3D modeling phase, CATIA Imagine & Shape was used to create and refine surfaces, relying on 3D sketches without the need for 2D references. This process accelerated model development and improved accuracy, especially in terms of proportions and overall dimensions.
By using tools such as IMA Extrude and Net Surface, surfaces could be constructed, while features like IMA Extrusion, Merge, Erase, Modification, Symmetry, Face Cutting, and Mesh Tools were applied to refine, duplicate, modify, and detail each surface to achieve a high level of aesthetics.
CATIA Rendering Scene Design was used to create materials and textures, applying the unique properties of each material, from carbon fiber to emissive materials such as headlights and taillights. This allowed clear differentiation even between materials with similar characteristics, such as brushed metal, painted metal, and chrome-plated metal.
To create a real-life product experience, the 3DEXCITE Creative Experience tool on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform was used. Gabriel was able to configure environments, lighting, and environmental effects. Through this creative experience, real-time animations, animated models, and scene behaviors were developed, along with the ability to easily configure the entire context into a high-quality VR experience.
The 3DEXPERIENCE platform played a crucial role in this project. All workflows were aligned with its creative design process, saving time and leveraging cloud resources to enable continuous digital engineering. This allowed the entire project to be completed anytime and anywhere, from initial 2D design to 3D modeling and finally to a full product experience.
