Daniel Simon (born 1975) is a German concept designer and automotive futurist. He is best known for his vehicle designs in movies like '' Tron: Legacy'' and ''

Oblivion Oblivion may refer to: Film * ''Oblivion'' (1994 film), an American space Western * ''Oblivion'' (2013 film), an American post-apocalyptic science fiction film Literature * ''Oblivion'' (''Power of Five''), a 2012 novel by Anthony Horowitz * ...

'', and his book ''Cosmic Motors''.

Early life

Simon grew up in

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...

, Germany. From an early age he was interested in drawing cars from imagination, and at the age of 16 he decided to become a car designer. In 2001, Simon obtained his degree in

automotive design Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The functional design and development of a modern ...

at the University of Applied Science, Pforzheim.

Automotive career

Simon began his design career in 1999 at

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post ...

(Wolfsburg) under the leadership of Hartmut Warkuss and designed cars for

Seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

and

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–199 ...

under the supervision of

Walter de Silva Walter Maria de Silva (born 27 February 1951 in Lecco, Italy) is an Italian car designer and former head of Volkswagen Group Design, until 2015. Since beginning his car design career in 1972 as trainee car designer for Fiat's Style Centre. De Si ...

. In 2001 he was contracted by the

Group's advanced studio (Design Center Europe, Sitges), where he participated in the reincarnation of the

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then- German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The ca ...

brand. He left the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

as a senior designer after completing a concept car in 2005. Between 2005 and 2007, Simon continued consulting for Bugatti and developed futuristic virtual vehicles for his book ''Cosmic Motors'', published in 2007 by Design Studio Press. Upon its release, ''Cosmic Motors'' topped the automotive best-seller list of online retailer

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econom ...

. It has received positive reviews from design icons such as

Chris Bangle Christopher Edward Bangle (born October 14, 1956) is an American automobile designer. Bangle is known best for his work as Chief of Design for BMW Group, where he was responsible for the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce motor cars. Early life Bangl ...

Freeman Thomas Freeman Thomas (born August 20, 1957) is an American automobile and industrial designer who has worked for Porsche, Volkswagen Group, DaimlerChrysler and Ford. Background Thomas, the son of an American military air traffic controller and a German ...

, Syd Mead and

Ryan Church Ryan Matthew Church (born October 14, 1978) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Career Minors Drafte ...

. In 2011, Simon was appointed to "create a dynamic new corporate image" for the

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: His ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

team's second season in Formula 1. He designed the livery of the team's F111 car. The newly established Lotus Motorcycles group hired Simon in 2013 as the designer for the first Lotus Motorcycle C-01.

Film design career

Simon was hired in 2008 as vehicle concept designer on '' Tron: Legacy'', the sequel to the 1982 film ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programme ...

'' by the

Disney Studios The Walt Disney Studios is an American film and entertainment studio, and is the Studios Content segment of the Walt Disney Company. Based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, the studio is best known for its multifaceted ...

, and relocated from Germany to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, California. He was involved in the creation of the Light Cycles, the Light Runner, the Light Jets, and several background vehicles. In 2009, he became lead vehicle designer for

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

' 2011 '' Captain America: The First Avenger'', under the production design of

Rick Heinrichs Richard Heinrichs is an American production designer, effects artist, art director and film producer. He is well known for his work on the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' series, Ang Lee's '' Hulk'' and ''The Nightmare Before Christmas''. He star ...

and creative guidance of director

Joe Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston II (born May 13, 1950) is an American film director, producer, writer, and visual effects artist. He is best known for directing effects-driven films, including '' Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' (1989), '' Jumanji'' (19 ...

, creating unique land, sea and air vehicles for the movie. After collaborating with director

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

on early vehicle concepts for ''

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...

'' in 2010, Simon served for over one year as the designer of the Bubbleship for the 2013 Universal sci-fi film ''

''.

Awards and nominations

References

* * *

External links

*http://www.danielsimon.com/ — Official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Daniel 1975 births Living people German automobile designers German motorcycle designers German speculative fiction artists Science fiction artists