Life of Wagener
In 1990–1993 at the University of Duisburg–Essen, Wagener majored in Industrial Design. During 1993–1995 at the Royal College of Art in London, he focused on Transportation Design. He worked as an external designer for Volkswagen, Mazda, and General Motors after graduating from college. As a transportation designer, he joined Mercedes-Benz in 1997. In 1999, he was promoted to manager of exterior and interior styling for the R, ML, and GL-Class models. In 2002, he moved on to the A, B, C, E, CLK, and CLS-Class. In 2006, he relocated to the US Advanced Design office, and in 2007, he was appointed Director of Design Strategy and Global Advanced Design. He received a promotion the following year, becoming Daimler AG's Vice President of Design. The position of Chief Design Officer at Daimler was given to Wagener.
Some of Wagener's notable designs include:
- Mercedes-Benz A-Class
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class
- Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class
- Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
- Mercedes-EQ
- Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
- Mercedes-AMG ONE
- Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6
- Mercedes-Benz F015 Concept
Wagener's Style
Wagener's designs start with a normal design and then get transformed with the use of new parameters of the electric and digital world. His focus is based on how can they design cars differently than cars have been done for the past 100 years. Taking electric vehicles to an advantage, Wagener designs cars to allow for a futuristic look while providing a glider feel. Personally, the Vision-Mercedes Maybach 6 looks the best since it looks futuristic, but is not too futuristic like the Mercedes-Benz F015 Concept. Wagener's designs prove that for something to be futuristic, not only it has to have a design change, but it needs to have futuristic quality.
"Important brands are characterised by their own special style - that's what makes the difference. The style of our house, which we have continued to refine over the past 15 years, is our design philosophy of Sensual Purity. It is our aesthetic soul and the core of our brand DNA. With it, we have created independent product personalities and given all Mercedes brands an unmistakable appearance. Our design language uniquely combines beauty with the extraordinary. To create tension, for example, we link opposites - this deliberate bipolarity of emotion and intelligence characterises our designs. Beauty forms the emotional core for us - it has its very own magic. Everything we do must be aesthetic. Beauty fascinates people and exerts a great attraction - all around us: in nature, in art, in fashion - and even in cars. But that alone is not enough for us: We strive to give beauty the additional glamour of the extraordinary. That is what we aim for as Mercedes designers: revolutionary products that touch people emotionally and that people absolutely want to have." - Gorden Wagener
Wagener's Designs
