This story originally appeared on Cool Hunting

In early June Cool Hunting visited the GM Design Center when the then still unnamed Escala was being assembled for the first time, spending the day with a deep dive into all aspects of the car and the many, many people involved in bringing it to life—interior and exterior design, fabrication, communications, and the many talented craftspeople in the studio who bring the wood, leather, metal and fabric elements to life by hand. 

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The Escala represents the best of the company's talents coming together to showcase the brand's vision. What struck us was how the project's core team, including some of the youngest and newest talent, worked hand-in-hand with some of the company's most experienced. That collaborative creation was honest, inspired and occasionally spirited.

Carrie Crawley, Strategic Design Manager

Cadillac exterior designer Frank Wu working on the clay model for the Escala.

Taki Karras, Cadillac's Exterior Design Manager, walked us through the car, noting that the Escala completes the experience trilogy, and that despite the time between the design of the concept cars that it was important to capture the spirit of the brand and the physical proportions. "What you'll notice on the front view of the car, the big difference between where we have been in the past and where we are now is with the graphics on the front in terms of the lighting signature," he says. "On this vehicle we're introducing a bit of a horizontal element into the Cadillac design language, and what that does is allows us to get your eye to walk all the way around the car and have more harmony in the design." Adding, "We really wanted to play up proportion first and foremost as your first read, then this clean beautiful surfacing with very high-tech details that give a modern aesthetic." He commented on one of those tech details, the use of OLED lighting, which allowed the designers to place lighting where they couldn't previously, noting the unique tail lights and their laser etching. You can't help but notice the sculptural element that supports the front doors, which he notes creates a "beautiful piece of restrained artwork that has a functional purpose."

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The wheels and tires received equal attention as well. Cadillac worked with Michelin to create the 20" tires, which feature the Cadillac chevron in the original tread design. The wheels have a milled aluminum piece on top, allowing the spokes to reach the center and to hide the lug nuts. The components for the wheels were all designed and milled in house.

Simplicity is always harder than it looks, and the Escala's exterior and interior lines took a lot of effort to achieve. One major evolution for the interior is the adoption of curved OLED displays, which permit the screens to float and become part of the design instead of needing to be designed around. Kraska excitedly notes that "The OLEDs afford this flexibility and shape for us… designer freedom, and it is like heaven." They allow the displays to be wrapped in leather, even embossed with the Cadillac crest—a nice touch. "Luxury doesn't have to shout or scream, it can whisper," she notes.

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Cadilla Goddess

The displays (smaller versions of which appear on the rear of the front seats for back seat passengers) provide insight into how the brand is thinking about information design and user experience. The Cadillac Goddess, designed by William Schnell in 1930, debuted as an elegant radiator cap. After a lengthy pause she's back, this time etched into the glass in the controller that operates the car's information and entertainment systems.

Read the full story—including more about the modeling, interior, material choices and assembly—on designing the Cadillac's Escala on Cool Hunting.