Influx

Frank Stephenson, the designer of the new MINI, is interviewed in the Australian website Drive

In the interview he is asked to put to rest the rumors about how the car’s tailpipe was designed.

It’s been reported that the new Mini’s tailpipe was inspired by a beer can. Is that true?

“It was 4am and we were going around the clay model, checking everything was perfect before we presented our Mini against 14 other proposals to be chosen as the final design at headquarters in Munich. I was walking around it and suddenly realized there was no tailpipe. The guys were having a few beers after a long night and I said to the modelers that we had to have a tailpipe. They said don’t worry about it. But I said, guys, you don’t understand, the Mini Cooper was all about its cute little tailpipe. So we were looking around for something to use and that’s when we looked at the bottom of an empty beer can. We cut it down to size, polished it up, pushed it in place and presented the car later that morning. No one knew what it was, they thought it was a nice piece of design. When the supplier came to ask us how we wanted the tailpipe, I gave them a (beer) can and they made it.”

You can plan things to a point, but some of the best stuff happens when you don’t.

For all those that seek creative ideas, there is always the question – How much room do we allow on this project for intuition and spontaneity?

The answer to this question is not about a single briefing, but long-term corporate culture.

Does your organization openly encourage creativity or does it tend to stifle it? The answer to that question is critical, because it probably determines if your business has a future.