Design Manager Susan Skarsgard has worked for 15 years as a designer at General Motors and holds a master’s in fine arts from the University of Michigan. Her artistic talents and sensibilities infuse her eclectic GM work on a daily basis, in everything from brand lettering to show exhibitions to archival art collections. Her career exemplifies the many design opportunities within the company. As she explains, “There is a true, fine art to car design that artists would appreciate. It’s a largely untold story.”
Skarsgard abides by a long-held belief, “When the underlying intellectual concept is provocative, important and the human response is from talented hands: to me, that’s when art happens.”
Her GM projects have been vast, ranging from calligraphy for vehicle logos to creating a beautiful painting for the executive dining room. One of her latest masterpieces is a historical, one-of-a-kind book showcasing archival photographs, architectural drawings and other related ephemera of GM’s critically acclaimed Technical Center, which was designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen. She is known internationally for her original fine art works, site-specific installation art, artist books, graphic design and calligraphy. As a lecturer and teacher, Skarsgard has conducted workshops and presentations for numerous institutions, organizations and conferences, traveling extensively throughout North America, Australia and Europe.
Session Title:
Global Industrial Design Then and Now: Designing Women at General Motors
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