David Lyon (designer)

Last updated
David Lyon
DGL portrait.jpg
BornNovember 8, 1968 (1968-11-08) (age 54)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesDave Lyon
OccupationCar designer
Employer(s) General Motors (1990-2012)
VinFast (2017-Present)
Known forChief Designer for Buick and GMC

David Lyon (Dave Lyon, born 1968) is a car designer best known for his work with General Motors where he worked directly from college in 1990 until 2012. He is originally from Naperville, Illinois, United States and has been moved around several General Motors design studios during his career. He is currently working for VinFast, a Vietnamese automobile manufacturer.

Contents

Career

Lyon studied at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan where he received a bachelor of fine arts in transportation design in 1990. Directly after college he joined General Motors at the Design Center in General Motors Technical Center, Warren, Michigan where he was first assigned to the Oldsmobile design studios. In 1997, he joined the Cadillac design studio where he helped to design the first generation Cadillac CTS and in 1998 he moved to the Buick Brand Studio and served as Chief Designer. [1]

In 2002, Lyon was appointed Director of Design for the three Truck Interior Studios in where he led teams working on all GM future production interiors, including the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, and Hummer H3. In 2004, Lyon was Executive Director of GM Asia Pacific Design where he led teams in Korea, China and Australia to develop the Chevrolet Cruze, Sonic and Spark. [2]

In 2007, he relocated back to Michigan when he was appointed Executive Director Interior Design of North America. In that role, Lyon was responsible for 7 studios, including Perceptual Quality, Color & Trim, User Experience, and several Design Studios responsible for the design of Cadillac, Buick, GMC, and Chevrolet interiors. In 2012, he was appointed head of GM Europe Design, the German base for Opel/Vauxhall design work [3] but left GM with no notice end of July 2012. [4]

From left: James DeLuca (general director Vinfast), Le Thi Thu Thuy (VP Vingroup), David Lyon (design director Vinfast) and David Beckham Vinfast-Mondial Paris 2018.jpg
From left: James DeLuca (general director Vinfast), Lê Thị Thu Thủy (VP Vingroup), David Lyon (design director Vinfast) and David Beckham

After leaving GM, he established his own company David Lyon Design LLC.

In June 2013, Lyon started Pocketsquare Design, a studio focused on automotive interior user experience design. [5]

In 2017, David became Director of Design for Vietnamese automobile manufacturer VinFast. [6]

Significant designs

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References

  1. "Biography" (PDF). University of Cincinnati. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  2. "DAVID LYON, NEW VICE PRESIDENT DESIGN FOR OPEL/VAUXHALL – MARK ADAMS NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GLOBAL CADILLAC AND BUICK DESIGN". Clásicos al Volante. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. "GM Looks to Improve Global Design with Executive Reassignments". Motor Trend. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  4. "GM Design: Lyon Out at Opel, Buick and Cadillac Boss Adams to Assume Duties Temporarily". Car and Driver. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  5. Gallina, Eric (2014-01-22). "Pocketsquare Design previews HMI of the Future". Form Trends. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  6. Vietnam's Vinfast launches at Paris auto show with pair of rebodied BMWs in motorauthority.com on October 3, 2018.