This profile on legendary industrial designer and futurist artist Syd Mead, who passed away in 2019 was first published in German Loved & Found Magazine.
Syd Mead’s workspace does not exactly seem like a place where the future is created. A plain chipboard worktop, to which he has attached a long-necked metal lamp on the left and right, serves as a desk for the master of futuristic vehicle design. Brushes, paper, and cardboard are spread across it.
He is in demand in Hollywood, as many famous science fiction classics bear the signature of the American futurist. He is famous for fantastic modes of transport: the Light Cycle from Tron and Spinner, the flying police car from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner—they have all sprung from his imagination.
Syd Mead also conceived the architectural backdrop of dystopian Los Angeles for the 1982 cult classic: a dirty, bleak, and overpopulated city. But the specialist area of the "visual futurist" remains mobility, as his biography shows. Shortly after graduating from the Art Center College of Design in California in 1959, he worked in the styling studio at Ford. Eventually, in 1970, he founded the idea factory Syd Mead Inc. Alongside the major film studios, his pool of customers includes companies such as Philips, Sony, and Chrysler.
Syd Mead is crazy about cars. He was particularly affected by the Cadillac: "When it came onto the market in 1959, I thought I needed to change careers because I couldn’t imagine that anyone would ever top that first-class vehicle design," he recalls. And, interestingly enough, Syd Mead has in fact never designed a mass-produced vehicle.
His only contributions to American automotive history are the tail lights of the 1960s Ford Falcon. Instead, Mead’s creations fly around the universes of science-fiction films and will live on as a piece of American cultural history. However, as fantastical as his works are, they nevertheless appear astoundingly real. This is also something he learned from years of experience in major automotive companies.
"Imagination means translating existing knowledge into new forms"—Syd Mead
Mead knows the industry and what challenges it must be ready to face in the future: "Private property is becoming more and more expensive and is a popular target for tax increases. There will still be private vehicles in the future, but they will be more of an elitist hobby for high earners," he predicts. "The majority of the population will get around through car sharing. Today’s automotive industry is primarily oriented to productivity, but I think the potential of the markets in China and India is overestimated."
Mead has already predicted quite a few trends. Over 30 years ago, he drew a vision of the "electronic herd"—autonomous vehicles that communicate with one another and drive without colliding, like flocks of birds in the air or shoals of fish underwater. Today, this principle is called car-to-car communication. Mead is convinced that driverless driving is future-proof—after all, people got into flying kerosene boxes, too.
But how does a man like Syd Mead always manage to be ahead of his time? He spends many hours reading sci-fi literature and respected science and economics magazines. In line with his theory that "imagination means translating existing knowledge into new forms," he turns information into mobile visions. Split personality helps him in this endeavor. He says that in order to be successfully creative, it is necessary to take the perspectives of different characters: firstly, that of the mad scientist, who gives free rein to his visions; secondly, that of the person who critically questions the ideas and reviews their feasibility; and thirdly, the realistic assessment of someone who confronts the client or customer with a suggestion.
"The Future Is Our Mutual Destination" —Syd Mead
The principle has proved effective—to this day, Hollywood directors make the future his business. The love for detail in his inspiration is particularly appreciated. Alongside Tron and Blade Runner, Elysium, Star Trek, Alien, and Mission to Mars are also on the short, friendly man’s list of references. But it is not only the film industry that makes use of his services; the exclusive circle of the international jet set is aware of the visual genius, too. Thus, billionaire sheikhs and entrepreneurs are part of Syd Mead’s clientele and have him equip their luxury yachts and private aircraft.
Now and then, he also invites clients to join him for a sundowner on his property in Pasadena, where he lives together with his life partner and manager, Roger Servick. Syd Mead enjoys pleasant company within his own four walls, but still, sometimes he is tempted out into the world. He gives talks at film festivals, attends sci-fi conventions, and gives interviews. But does he ever tire of talking about the future? "Not at all. Thinking about it is a continual creative challenge," he explains. "The future is our mutual destination. It is down to all of us to shape it sensibly. I will continue to see it as an opportunity for each individual to play a part with their own capabilities in order to make the world a little bit better."
