A structural analysis of frontal car styling

Abstract

The visual appearance of the products is a significant factor that defines their characteristics. As one of the most significant artefacts associated with characters and pareidolia, cars and car faces are the subject of the study. Previous studies state that car faces are likened to animal and human faces, and therefore personal characteristics are attributed to them. However, they have fallen short in identifying design languages that cause cars to be perceived as such. In that sense, this study presents a structural analysis of 27 automobile faces in which patterns were identified and the resulting design languages were compared with the manufacturers' definitions. The results show a correlation between rounded headlights and flattened grills with a plain character, and inclined quadrilateral or triangular headlights, bulky grills, and cut lamps with a dynamic and confident character. Furthermore, design trends for car faces from the 2000s to the 2020s were presented.