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WE TALKED WITH THE DESIGNER OF THE NEW AGT 1060 TRACTOR!

Mr. Bystrik Micek is an industrial designer from Bratislava, Slovakia, where he also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design. He gained rich experience at the Volkswagen Wolfsburg company in Germany and at Mercedez-Benz, where he mainly acquired additional knowledge in industrial design of vehicles and modern attractive designs. In 2013, he began set upon his own professional path and created the WERKEMOTION company, which focuses on industrial design. Due to his excellent portfolio, we at the Agromehanika company decided on WEREMOTION to design our new AGT 1060 tractor. How did WEREMOTION tackle this task? How was the new AGT 1060 created? How are they pleased with the result? Read more in the interview with Mr. Bystrik Micek below.

WE TALKED WITH THE DESIGNER OF THE NEW AGT 1060 TRACTOR!

1. You are involved in industrial design. What inspired you to start engaging in industrial design? Did you know in childhood that you want to work in this area?

I was all my childhood sketching and designing any types of vehicles, of course in child naive way. I was making many small scale models, paper models and many other activities related to creating things and solutions. I believe that the main source of this interests was books and movies about science, nature and any technical, mechanical products especially transportation and vehicles. I was quite curious about how things works, how nature works, how works anything what is around us. It was like secrets for me and by books and documentaries I founded way how to find answers.

2. Can you tell us more about the design process itself. What is needed for the project to be carried out from start to finish. What kind of information do you need at the beginning and how much does the product change from initial design to final design? What is your ritual of work when the customer is contacting you and telling you their wishes?

Design process or development process of any product at all is quite simply structured steps with complex scopes of works, which combines research, analysis, brand core principles and identity definition. Continue by sketch development and 3D concept development with several overall or partial iterations based on many brainstorming internally or with clients. After coming stages based on prototyping, testing, and manufacturing preparations also followed by many iterations with many different professions, as marketing, engineering, manufacturing, materials and ergonomy definitions, packaging, user interface and using of the product.

Difference between initial idea and final product is mostly in production and usage optimizations. But important is to keep until the end of development same overall feeling what had chosen proposals in the first stages of development by client and designers.

I don't have some special rituals on the beginning of the new business relationship, or even later. It is quite the same process as any other business persons. Relationship has to be built, has to be based on trust and has to be both sides correct. And We need together understand wishes, specification, boundaries and purpose of the product, which is as for any business has to be pro customer oriented.

3. Where do you get inspiration for new ideas? Do you have a step-by-step route or you wait for a "real" idea to come?

Design is not abstract feeling based profession. Ideas not coming, ideas are created by development iteration, research and analysis. Inspiration in fact is research, and study of the field from which coming our product and study of the product itself.

Our development process I did lightly described in previous answer, that's our step-by-step route.

4. Agriculture is also increasingly focusing on the attractive design of machines. Have you ever formed agricultural machines before?

No I didn't, AGT 1060 was my first agricultural vehicle to design. And I enjoyed a lot, because the most important thing was that the client was open to design anything new with just one boundary that has to be built and has to represent modern solution with respect to heritage of the company.

Design is one of the most important factors for sales of the company products and is a key pillar for the marketing of any healthy business. Companies what stop develop and stop focus on upgrade of their product portfolio, they will lose in future their market positions. And because design development is a long term process, there is not many options how to make it when its already too late. Agriculture products and companies of any size  in the last decade having big boom of design implementation, before it was mostly standard just for big players of this industry, now is for all, and who is not ready is late. Design of the new AGT 1060 started development in the second half of 2014 and its just showing how Agromehanika is advance agricultural company, because they are now ready to hold their strong position on the market with new beautiful product.

5. How did you start working for the AGT 1060 tractor? Did you need a lot of time to prepare your first draft?

I remember first important steps as research, sketch development and 3D concept development which created an overall feeling of the new design was defined in the first 4 - 6 months of the cooperation.

Beginning starting all the time with sketch development, what is like saint-graal for designers, its unlimited playground what We love and that the source of all our projects.

6. The design of the tractor shows great power. How would you describe the design of the tractor 1055? What kind of association do you get when you look at the finished tractor?

AGT 1060 and its design is really nice result with own unique identity. Originally the main idea was to design a kind of mask on the face of the main engine cover. Important point of the whole design concept is that main lights are positioned on the mudguards over the wheel but We created own design face with another set of lights which are representing “eyes” of the vehicle directly on the engine cover, which makes real face identity of tractor.

7. How much time did you spend on the whole project, from those first sketches to the final design? What were the steps in shaping the final design?

Whole development started in the middle of 2014 and finished with final presentation of prototype during Agritechnica expo at the end of 2017. The main steps and decision moments was based on successful compromises between design, production possibilities and engineering boundaries. I believe that We did together great job and product has real soul.

8. How satisfied were you with the final product? Would things work differently today? Would you change something?

I am really satisfied with the product at all not just design. Whole product is superb and its beautiful result of cooperation between design and engineering. So between WERKEMOTION design studio and Agromehanika. Of course today We are both sides of development much more experienced and We could make process more time effective, that's all what We can improve.

9. The first tractors are already made. Have you ever taken a ride with it?

No, not really :) I have quite respect to it. But I would love it.

10. Which part of new tractor is your favorite? And why?

It's definitely engine cover. It's really nice shape modelling with really good balanced colour composition and all technical inputs as air intakes, etc. Also not so much visible, but really interesting is steering column covers which are designed to be production effective and combine quite complicated shapes with many limitations.

11. You have very different products in your portfolio. Which of your projects is your favorite?

AGT 1060 is for me definitely one of my main identity projects, because it was one of first 5 projects what I did on the beginning of my design studio. All projects what I was working on have some favourite moments and inputs to my life, so in general all of them are my favourite. Its more about what I learned with every project, that makes them important. But If I should just pick it will be AGT Tractor, Torsus offroad bus and several ships projects.

12. Do you have any hidden desire to design specific type of product? Which one?

Yes, it will definitely be my own product, and for sure it will be from transportation industry.


You can read more about the company on their web page HERE

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