John Manoogian II
Adjunct Faculty
MBA, Oakland University; BA, Michigan State University; BS, Art Center College of Design
“Design Thinking” as a process
History of Automotive Design
Professional Experience
33 Years at General Motors Design Staff
Dir. of Design, Cadillac Exterior:
Motor Trend Car of the Year Cadillac CTS
2 Presidential Limousines
33% of all GM cars sold 2008 were a result of Manoogian’s team’s efforts
Executive Vehicle Chief Designer:
Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac Exterior
Chief Designer Pontiac Exterior
Assist. Chief Designer
Saturn Exterior, Pontiac Exterior, Cadillac Exterior
Portfolio Team:
Responsible for interviewing and hiring college graduates for design positions at GM Design
Sheet Metal Subject Matter Expert
Exterior Quality Champion
3 Design Patents
John Manoogian II is currently acting as a design consultant for his recently formed design consultancy Forzablitz, working on various design projects which included an electric car project. He has also been retained as an Expert Witness in Automotive Design Patent case. Additionally, Manoogian is teaching the next generation of transportation designers as an Adjunct Professor at CCS.
Significant Publications, Presentations and Exhibitions
Speaker: Industrial Designer’s Society of America Annual Michigan conference on Transportation
Speaker: Portland Art Museum, Art of the Automobile”
Speaker: Cadillac Club of America, Classic Car Club of America
Documentary “Detroit in Overdrive”
Concours Judge: La Jolla,CA, Meadowbrook Concours, Eyes on Design Automotive Design Exhibition
MSNBC,NPR, various Automotive television program guest speaker
Quoted in Automotive publications regarding design trends and automotive design
