Nicola Danks
colour and materials design director
Lucid Motors

As CMF Design Director at Lucid Motors, Nicola leads the team that curates the future of materials for Lucid vehicles forging a strategic design method focused around innovation and sustainability. Her most recent work for Lucid’s Gravity SUV, produced a post-modern approach with adoption of RPET textiles and a furniture-inspired mélange effect, as well as the use of walnut wood in a variety of stains for best utilization of material. 

Nicola started her CMF career at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) as a graduate colour and materials designer, and produced more than 50 design vision models and displays for internal evaluation by senior executives. After winning promotion to first senior and then lead C&M designer, she worked on Defender derivatives as well as playing a role in the new electric Jaguar project. Her work on the Defender helped launch new materials and finishes using the X-Dynamic trim such as the Powdercoat dashboard finish, Robustec printed textile, and Kvadrat wool blend textile. Nicola was also responsible for JLR hiring a C&M designer in China during her secondment to Shanghai when she convinced the company of the need to have a local colour and materials specialist there. 

Before this, Nicola worked at Industrial Design consultancies in the UK after gaining a first class Master of Design degree in industrial product design from Coventry University.