Last week I spent 24(ish) hours in Switzerland. It was a very last trip minute but when I got the call I knew I couldn't say no. The brief excursion was at the end of six days of constant (but by no means a chore) travel; Blackpool > Birmingham > Brighton > Geneva and back. The Friday before I flew to Geneva I was watching the sun set over Brighton beach. I'd never even heard of a Swiss Franc before, and knew nothing of these mysterious Swiss power adaptor that are seemingly available nowhere. Wacky stuff. That will teach me for not researching, but hey, there was very little time.
I headed to Gevena to meet up with the Kia team, who were showing at the Gevena International Motor Show (GIMS for short...). A quick Google / hashtag search told me that GIMs was a huge deal in the motorcar industry. A press + public show which is attended by anyone who's anyone in this industry....and now Buckets & Spades of course! Kia invited me to the show to capture their innovative approach to modern design, explore new technologies, immerse myself in
the history and future direction of the Kia brand, and to investigate how a car
show like GIMs can be enjoyed from an alternative angle.
I wasn't there for the performance side of things, but it was hard not to get caught up in their world. It was let a Top Gear situation - all standing around grunting - and more of a celebration of where Kia have achieved in the past, and where they're going in the present.
I wasn't there for the performance side of things, but it was hard not to get caught up in their world. It was let a Top Gear situation - all standing around grunting - and more of a celebration of where Kia have achieved in the past, and where they're going in the present.
As I said, the performance side of things isn't my speciality. I've never been into the inner workings and technical side, but to understand why certain things are designed in a certain way it does help to grasp the basics. Like anything, the more you immerse yourself into a subject and surround yourself by people who are passionate and enthusiastic about a subject, the more it rubs off on you. It works for anything; whisky, pets, trainspotting, trainers, fitness, illustration...the underlying connector is passion.
I spent little over a day in the city of Geneva, two of those hours were in traffic ironically. The city is buzzing with activity in the day time, but deadly silence at night. Other than a few hour's sleep, the rest of my time was spent exploring Kia's stand at the show, where both existing and brand new models were exhibited. My fuel for the day was strong and black, snacks were anything I could get my hands on and wi-fi was at a premium. It seems every single person in that exhibition centre was jostling for those illusive five bars, to Tweet, email and share their findings. It wasn't a race but the event was running faster than any menswear show I've ever been to. Fitting I guess?!
The show was an eye-opener for me. We heard from people with enough passion to fill a petrol tank twice over, and had chance to experience Kia's cars without actually driving one. I know this may seem weird, but it gave me chance to actually appreciate a process which started in the drawing room - so easy to forget when you're driving from a to b. To most people this will sound like a throwaway comment, because who really cares, it just moves us about? Well, I guess I do. And anyone else who's interested in the design process and the idea of improving will hopefully back me up on this one. Maybe I'm actually more interested in how they're made than how they perform?
After nine busy hours at the show and one last huge glug of perfectly fresh Swiss air, we we packed up our kit and headed back to the airport. And that was it, time to spin our watches back an hour. We planned to see much more of Geneva but there just wasn't enough hours in the day. The only thing that was left to do was grab a bite at Burger King and browse the mountains of Swiss chocolate at the airport. Still, I'm glad I packed a few emergency Snickers bars, those Swiss sure know how to charge!
Thank you to Kia for inviting me to join the team for a day, if only we could have stayed for longer. Another time hey, now how about that road trip...
Thanks for reading,
Mat
Thanks for reading,
Mat
Can i have one of each?? 😃
ReplyDeleteyou lucky duck! those cars look sexy!
ReplyDeleteFab that you got to nip over to Geneva. I've never been before but I hear that is it a bit posh? Hahahaha don't worry about researching - learning as you go is part of the adventure!
ReplyDeleteso posh. so fresh, so clean. Sadly they only eat coffee.
ReplyDeleteThis looks supercool!! Kia rocks last years with really nice cars..
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing ^_^
Michael
www.ontheleaf.net
I love this post and this must have been quite a fantastic trip. The photos are lovely and as you said, it's important to stop and remember the design process. I think you would enjoy BMW Welt in Munich, it's a must!
ReplyDeleteSounds like it was fast paced but extremely fun (as well as informative). The photos are beautiful!!! KIA is looking and sounding pretty good right now, nice to see them progressing this way.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fantastic trip. KIA are definitely competing in the market now and from these pics there could be a few models coming out that are pretty exciting?
ReplyDeleteBen | www.twentyfirstcenturygent.com
Cheers mate, thanks for coming back. Really excited for Kia!
ReplyDeleteI know, pretty good opportunity for me.
ReplyDeleteCan we both?!
ReplyDeleteYeah they're massive in american but just starting to pick up momentum here in the UK, really excited for them right now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy, I'm pleased with my photos too. KIA is massive in the US right? Not as much over here, so it's cool to see them engaging in actitivties like this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Daisy, it's important to me and I'm glad I share views with others. Not heard of that, will search for it now.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed a few KIA models that have caught my eye recently and would never have looked at them in the past. Photos are great by the way dude, what camera did you use for these?
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be much bigger in the US, wher I seem to see them all the time. Me too, I keep spotting them now. I used a Lumix DX7.
ReplyDeleteI read this blogpost when it first popped up on my blogger dashboard but haven't had the chance to leave a comment until now - I've been really bad at commenting lately because I'm trying to cut down on the time I use my computer, iPad and smartphone. I've been detoxing from technology! But anyway, following on from yours and Nik's hilarious podcast, it reminded me that I had to pop to your blog and say hi!
ReplyDeleteI have heard about this motor show from my other half who studied Transportation Design at Uni and was a car designer for a brief time, and he has always described the Geneva Motor Show to me as the Paris Fashion Week of the car world. I showed him this blogpost, he was super jealous that you went to Geneva but he thought it was really interesting to hear about your experience. I'm going to get him to listen to your podcast this week! (ha, GIMS O Clock, haha BRILLIANT!) x
Well I'm glad our podcast jolted your memory, thanks for visiting to that by the way, it does mean a lot that something bothers to put that on for 35 minutes. we all need to take steps back sometimes, a nice break does us the world of good. We're staying in a forest next weekend, so that will be my break!
ReplyDeleteOh really, that is actually what I wanted to get into when I was at school, but it never worked out. I didn't want to become a mechanic first...lazy I know, but I just wanted to draw fast cars. It's a massive deal, and the place was so big, huge. Biggest centre I've ever been to actually. Thanks for showing him the post, it was cool Kia asked something like me, something with a design background rather than "petrol-head", as it were. GIMS O Clock!