Engineering news
An expert panel of judges from design magazine The Drum has voted the designer behind recent Jaguar sports cars the F-Type, XE and XF as its 2015 designer of the year.
The magazine, which annually compiles a list of the top 100 most influential individuals in UK design, praised Ian Callum, director of design at JLR's, “dedication to innovation and eye for detail”.
Stephen Lepitak, editor of The Drum, said: "Ian Callum is a visionary of British design. From his roots at Ford in the 1970s, to his craftsmanship on Aston Martin, his influence on car design is legendary.
"His beautifully simple designs, including the 2013 Jaguar F-TYPE and the new XF, unveiled last month, have ushered in a new era for Jaguar, breathing life into the classic brand.
"Ian's strong vision for what Jaguar cars should look like truly represent the best of design in the UK."
Callum said: “It is an honour to reach the number one position in the list. For an automotive designer to claim this award is very special indeed – especially considering the depth and array of talented UK designers across the disciplines of architecture, fashion and graphic design.
Individuals on the “Designerati” list are judged on their overall career successes to date and highlights over the preceding 12 months as well as general involvement in the industry as a whole.
Ian’s career includes time at Ford, where he worked on the Escort Cosworth, and Aston Martin where he was key to the design of the DB7, DB9 and Vanquish. The first examples of Jaguar’s design direction under Callum were the luxury XK grand tourer, the XF saloon and XF Sportbrake, XJ saloon car and the two-seater F-TYPE sports car. September 2014 saw the launch of an all-new Jaguar model line in the form of the XE, followed closely in March 2015 by the introduction of the second-generation XF.