George Barris

I've always been a huge fan of the art direction of the original Batman TV series. One element of that show is the iconic Batmobile. I was just made aware of the fact that the Batmobile and almost every unique car concept from television shows and motion pictures has been the work of a single man, George Barris (and his brother and the company he founded).

His car designs include the Batmobile. The Beverly Hillbillies Jalopy, The Munsters (Munster Koach), The Monkees (Monkeemobile), The Dukes of Hazzard (General Lee), Mannix (Roadster), Starsky and Hutch (Ford Torino), Power Rangers (Rad-Bug, Turbo Vehicles, and SPD Cars) and KITT from Knight Rider KITT.











I need to rememer to write a post about the fact that academic design snobery has always looked down upon design that is highly narrative. I actually think that narrative design (as well as design as character and product brands with associated characters) is the most overlooked and underrated area of design and design education. So few people understand character design and the "theater" of design these days.