Lexus’s chief designer, Sellene Lee, and general manager of international strategic communications, Heather Updegraff, give us a glimpse into the future of the Lexus brand and products.
On average, a person spends four and a half years in a vehicle over their lifetime. Given this, it’s unsurprising that many people see their cars as an extension of themselves and form emotional attachments to them.
Like our homes, clothes, or anything else we invest significant amounts of time and money into, we want it to align with our personality and our values. So, when the chief designer at Lexus’ CALTY Design Research studio, Sellene Lee, said that she draws inspiration from fashion, home interiors, and lifestyle in her job, it made total sense.
Lee’s background is in CMF (Colour, Material, Finish) design, a discipline that was historically associated with aesthetics and making cars ‘look good’ from the outside. But at the beginning of her 14-year tenure at CALTY, Lee was already noticing a transition, and attention was finally shifting to interior design.
Redefining CMF
In the last five or so years, Lee has noticed a transition again towards “sensorial design” and a recognition of the importance of creating an emotional connection with consumers. “As we move in that direction, we need to spend a lot more time thinking about how we can make the design seamless and invisible but emotional and sensory,” she explains.
When asked to define what really good CMF design looks like, Lee says: “Let’s imagine you go to a really nice hotel and, even if it doesn’t have really extravagant or ornate decorations, it makes you feel good, but you don’t know why.
“Especially for me when I go to Japan, where I’m amazed by purely simple designs – but even these require a real attention to detail.”
As digital elements have become more prevalent in automotive, the CMF role now consistently works alongside UX designers. “Digital is part of our curation, and it’s getting bigger and bigger and dominating interior space, so it has to be part of the CMF coordination,” says Lee.
However, she notes that you don’t want “too much stimuli” and that you should integrate a certain level of tactility so users can focus on driving. She adds that working on software as well as hardware is the most notable transition of her career and that she is excited to see what the next big transition might be.
Beautiful, functional, reliable
One of the biggest challenges for CMF designers at CALTY is sustainability. “There was a time as a CMF designer that you would get really excited about sustainable materials and how they looked because we thought everyone would like it,” says Lee.
Unfortunately, the truth was that customers didn’t appreciate materials just for their sustainable credentials; they wanted to love them from the first impression. Ultimately, materials need to be beautiful, functional, and reliable for people to buy into them. Lee admits that it’s a challenge but reinforces that it is also one of their core goals.
For the LF-ZC (Future Zero-emission Catalyst) concept car, every part of the interior was made from sustainable materials, mostly bamboo. But it certainly doesn’t look like bamboo, as this aesthetic might automatically put off some luxury customers.
One of the door materials is bamboo fibre woven with copper yarn, resulting in an interactive surface, while the floors are bamboo chips mixed with recycled carbon, which helps make the car lighter.
Appreciating craftsmanship
“I believe that the general trend of the luxury market is that the more high-end it gets, the more people appreciate craftsmanship,” says Lee.
From a mass-market perspective, she feels an appreciation there but is unsure how much it affects purchase decisions.
“We always aim to propose something that will enlighten our customers and management so they can see its potential and value,” Lee adds. She remembers finding inspiration for the interiors of a sports concept car from a handbag with painted edges and ended up replicating this style on the car seat, which was a very unusual but innovative choice.
Omotenashi spirit
One of Lexus’ core principles is summarised in the Japanese word ‘Omotenashi’, meaning ‘thoughtful consideration’. “We are a very human-centric brand, and we put people at the centre of everything we do,” says Lexus’ general manager of international strategic communications, Heather Updegraff.
That much is evident from the interactive and multisensory installations that Lexus has exhibited year after year at events like Miami Art Week and Milan Design Week. Updegraff stresses the importance of participating in events with a creative focus and “standing for something beyond what they sell” to further establish that connection.
In her view, it helps people “embrace the brand and identify with it on a deeper level”. She says, “Design is a natural connection for Lexus because of our vehicle design and UX design, and we can connect with people intentionally outside of the automotive arena.”
A future of diversity
Lexus is a global brand that sells vehicles in over 19 markets—Mongolia and Cambodia were added last year—which means a “one size fits all” approach. “While some companies have said, ‘We’re going to go 100% battery electric vehicles,’ that is not our approach,” says Updegraff. “We don’t want to force our customers’ hand.”
From country to country, the infrastructure varies, and EV chargers are not readily available everywhere.
Updegraff asks, “Is the battery electric where we’re headed, or is that unrealistic?” and adds that we can achieve lower emissions by having different options. Some areas are no longer designed for cars and favour public transport, which is why Lexus sees itself as a mobility company, not just an automotive company, according to Updegraff.
She adds: “We’re exploring and investing in the future, which won’t look like our world today.” Lexus has already invested in Joby – essentially a flying vehicle – and Lexus KINTO One, a long-term rental program for business owners and company car drivers that encourages car shares and offers the benefits of driving a new Lexus without the need to own one.
These are just a few examples of how an automotive brand can diversify beyond EVs while staying on track to meet sustainability targets.
Change is coming
In 2011, when Akio Toyoda (now chairman) was CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, he said, “No more boring cars”. He wanted to move away from “safe” design and find a new identity driven by innovation.
Lexus’ signature spindle grille resulted from this moment of evolution and made its debut on the 2011 Lexus LF-Gh study, becoming an iconic style feature for Lexus models. However, Updegraff says this was just the beginning, as it opened their eyes to how design could be leveraged as “an agent of change”.
From a brand point of view, one significant change was the word Lexus being spelt out across the tailgate or trunk in place of the emblem, previewed by the 2022 Lexus NX. Otherwise, the brand has been pretty consistent over the years.
“We’re more of a brand that says ‘This is who we are, and this is how we’re going to continue’, but in the next year, there will be some announcements about some shifting of our brand,” Updegraff reveals.
We can expect to hear more on this at the Japan Mobility Show in October 2025. Watch this space.
