The problem
EV start-ups need recognisable identities across different vehicles, yet many designs either copy established brands or lack a coherent language. A design language links brand values to form, proportions, feature lines and lighting, and must work across very different vehicles. Research into how this is defined and evaluated, especially for Indian contexts, is limited.
Objectives
- Define brand values for an imaginary Indian EV brand through research and workshops.
- Translate values into a form vocabulary of proportions, feature lines, surfaces and graphics.
- Apply the language to three vehicle types in Alias.
- Evaluate coherence and distinctiveness with experts and users.
- Document the language as a guide with rules and examples.
What you need
Tools and toolboxes
- Autodesk Alias (AutoStudio or Surface) — Sketching, modelling and surfacing of the three vehicle concepts.
- Alias Paint — Form vocabulary sketches and mood development.
- Diagnostic Shading and Evaluate tools — Surface quality checks on all concepts.
- VRED, KeyShot or SOLIDWORKS Visualize — Consistent renders of the family for evaluation.
- Survey tool and spreadsheet or statistics software — Collect and analyse expert and user ratings.
Software
- Autodesk Alias 2024 or later
- A renderer
- Statistics software such as R, Python or SPSS
Extra parts and data
- Access to experts and users for evaluation — Design professionals and potential customers rate coherence and distinctiveness.
Key concepts
- Design language
- A set of form and graphic rules that express brand values and make products recognisable as a family.
- Form vocabulary
- The specific elements, such as proportions, feature lines, surface tension and lighting graphics, that make up a design language.
- Shape grammar
- A formal way to describe rules for generating forms, sometimes used to analyse and codify brand identity.
- Coherence and distinctiveness
- Coherence means family members look related; distinctiveness means the family is distinct from competitors.
Step-by-step guide
- 1
Research context
Review literature on design language, product identity, brand recognition and shape grammar, and collect Indian cultural, architectural and craft references that could inform form. Analyse current EV designs only to find visual themes to avoid, never to borrow forms. Write a positioning for an imaginary brand covering target users, use context and three to five values, with sources for every claim.
Checkpoint: A literature review and a brand positioning with three to five values.
- 2
Translate values to form
Run a short workshop with peers, or a structured self-study, to map each value to form attributes, for example calm to large clean surfaces with soft highlights, or energetic to tensioned feature lines that rise rearward. Build mood boards for each value in Alias Paint or on paper and sketch candidate elements: proportions, primary lines, surface character, lighting graphic and colour.
Checkpoint: A value-to-form mapping table with sketches for each element.
- 3
Define testable rules
Write rules for the language that are specific enough to check on a model, such as the shoulder line rises 3 to 5 degrees toward the rear, the lighting signature uses two horizontal elements joined by a thin line, or the body side has one highlight break only. Group rules into proportion, line, surface and graphic families, and optionally express some as shape grammar rules.
Checkpoint: A rule set with clear, testable statements grouped by family.
- 4
Apply to a scooter
Design an electric scooter in Alias following the rules, starting from a package of wheels, battery, motor and rider as in a standard styling project. Build key curves, surface with Rail, Skin and Square surfaces and check quality with Diagnostic Shading. Annotate the model with a callout for each rule and note where the rule had to adapt to the small scale and upright proportions.
Checkpoint: A surfaced scooter concept with annotations showing where each rule appears.
- 5
Apply to a three-wheeler
Design an electric three-wheeler, such as a passenger or cargo vehicle, using the same rules on a taller, boxier package with large flat areas. Build and check the surfaces the same way. Keep a rule transfer log recording, for each rule, whether it transferred directly, needed modification or failed, and what you changed. This log is a key research output.
Checkpoint: A surfaced three-wheeler concept with a completed rule transfer log.
- 6
Apply to a compact car
Design a compact electric car with the same rules at a larger scale, with more surfaces, glass areas and a full lighting front and rear. Use Align and continuity checks to hold G2 on the most visible boundaries so surface character matches the rules. Update the rule transfer log, and compare how many rules held across all three vehicles. Save annotated screenshots for the guide.
Checkpoint: A surfaced compact car concept with annotations and an updated rule log.
- 7
Render consistently
Render all three vehicles with the same lighting environment, camera focal length, viewing angles, paint colour and background in VRED, KeyShot or SOLIDWORKS Visualize, so rendering differences do not bias evaluation. Prepare comparison sets: the family together, each vehicle alone, and neutral control vehicles you model yourself that deliberately break the rules, for use in the study. Save the scene files.
Checkpoint: A consistent render set and control set ready for evaluation.
- 8
Design the evaluation
Design a study where design professionals and potential users rate coherence, distinctiveness and fit with each brand value on Likert or semantic differential scales, and complete identification tasks such as picking family members from a mixed set. Randomise image order, add attention checks, plan the sample size and obtain ethics approval where your institution requires it. Pilot the study with a few people first.
Checkpoint: An approved study design with hypotheses, procedure and a sample size plan.
- 9
Analyse results
Collect responses and analyse them with descriptive statistics and suitable tests, for example comparing coherence ratings and identification accuracy for the family against control sets, using mixed-effects models if each participant rated many images. Report effect sizes and confidence intervals, not only p-values, and compare expert and user groups to see whether they read the language differently. Keep the analysis scripts for reproducibility.
Checkpoint: Analysis results with statistics, effect sizes and charts.
- 10
Document the guide
Write a design language guide with the brand values, the rule set, annotated examples from all three vehicles, do and don't images and lessons from the rule transfer log. Include the evaluation results and their limitations, such as renders rather than real vehicles and sample size. Finish with a research report that states the method and contributions clearly. Share the guide with your reviewers for feedback.
Checkpoint: A design language guide and a research report.
Testing & validation
- Rules are specific and visible in all three concepts.
- Surface quality checks pass on all concepts.
- Evaluation shows coherence and distinctiveness with reported statistics.
- Renders are consistent to avoid bias.
Expected results
A documented design language for an imaginary Indian EV brand applied to three vehicles in Alias, with evaluation results from experts and users and a guide with testable rules.
Research angle for your PhD
The contribution lies in a reproducible method linking brand values to testable form rules and evaluating coherence and distinctiveness across vehicle scales. Comparing rule transfer across scooter, three-wheeler and car, and validating with expert and user studies that report effect sizes, would make a useful contribution to design research.
Take it further
- Apply the language to an interior or charger.
- Formalise the rules as a shape grammar and generate variants.
- Study how the language is perceived across regions.
- Use eye-tracking to see which features drive recognition.
Viva and review questions
How did you avoid copying existing brands?
I derived forms from brand values and cultural references rather than competitor designs and used competitor analysis only to find visual themes to avoid.
How do you measure coherence?
Through ratings and identification tasks where participants judge whether vehicles belong to the same family, compared with control sets.
Why apply rules to three vehicle types?
To test whether the language holds across very different scales and proportions, which is the real challenge for a brand.
Learn it at DIYguru
These DIYguru courses and programmes teach what this project needs.