The popular designer takes the top interiors job at the company alongside his existing work fostering the Polestar Design Community
Juan Pablo “JP” Bernal has been named head of interior design at Polestar.
He tells Car Design News that he is excited to take the reins of “an agile team of talented designers who are passionate and dedicated to advancing Polestar’s vision and future.”
It is an ‘acting’ role for the moment as the comany reacts to the departure of Jean-Arthur Madelaine-Advenier, who joined Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi in July. It is reasonable to expect that Bernal will be the permanent replacement given his existing tenure at Polestar and experience elsewhere.
“Having been a part of developing Polestar’s vision, this role allows me to continue developing and finalising our ongoing projects,” he says, “as well as further developing a strategic vision for our new future.”
Prior to Polestar where he has been senior interior design manager for three years, Bernal spent more than a decade at Volvo Cars in a similar capacity. A graduate of IED in Milan and later at Umea where he gained a masters in transportation design, he would begin his career with internships at Scania, working on truck and bus design, and then Germany with General Motors and Opel. He joined Volvo after a three year stint with tech supplier Semcon.
Alongside his work as a designer, JP has run the prolific social presence that is the Polestar Design Community since 2019, promoting the work of talented students and creatives, as well as running design competitions.
“Working on interior design for Polestar alongside my community involvement is incredibly rewarding,” Bernal says. “It’s inspiring to see how our creations influence the world and how emerging talents interpret and execute Polestar’s design language. For me, it’s fulfilling to connect with new talents and see how Polestar, as a brand, can contribute to their growth and development.”
Bernal will report to design director Maximilian Missoni.
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