Lexus Luxury Roundtable: Transcending Conventional Design

To Susan Arann being an interior designer transcends swatches and space planning for clients. Interior Design is as much about staying on top of trends and being a part of the industry as it is about fabric and furniture. As a very active designer in the industry, Susan continually finds herself being requested for panels and focus studies. 

The most recent comes from a Lexus who is looking for insight into what the affluent customer is looking for in luxury and global design in order to design a new luxury vehicle for the U.S. market. “It is exciting to be able to share my expertise on global and luxury design outside of the interior design industry. Clients tastes transfer easily from their homes to their cars, so it makes sense for a luxury car company to want to work with high-end interior designers” says Arann.

The roundtable discussion turned out very well and there was much to discuss. From tutorials on luxury fabrics to detailing on the steering wheel to integration of luxury must-haves, Lexus' idea to take a page from luxury interior designers is sure to pay off for their own consumers.  Among the group was the US and International Product Planning Managers, Chief Designer and Chief Engineer from Lexus and Interior  Designers Susan Arann, Barry Goralnick and Nitzan Tagansky.

Lexus is conducting this market research for a new luxury vehicle planned for the US market and believes that the interior designers can “help our engineers, designers and product planners…better understand affluent consumer design trends and design taste.”  It is expected that all of the research will have an inspiring effect on both the interior and exterior design of the future luxury Lexus vehicle.

As an expert in luxury and international design, Susan advises that “the affluent customer is looking for beauty – a sense of richness combined with functionality that is not necessarily brazen.  They want attention to detail on every product and they want it seamlessly integrated”.

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Susan is very involved in the interior design industry including her role as Treasurer in her local IDLNY group which focuses on Interior Design legislation, her membership on the Color Panel, her partnership in The Designer’s Collaborative, and participation on various panels and discussion groups throughout New York City. “Being an active part of the industry is important to me. My clients are important too, but I cannot be my best without keeping tabs on current trends and watching for new ones. My job is to give my clients the best. My passion is to find the latest and greatest to share with my clients and the groups and panels of which I am part of.”