Whom are you designing for?

it is still a very interesting topic. Whom are we, as designer, designing for?
surely, the official answer will certainly for the USER, the CUSTOMER, off cause.
but is it true? is it really what designer thinking? let's us look at a example:


this is the last generation of bmw 7, that is the most exclusive car under bmw brand. it is elegant, luxus and high-end. so the real target buyer are, those who can afford such a car, a high-range manager, business man,, maybe 50 or 60 years old.

but if we look at the old one, we can notice that, this car expresses a very progressive image, exeptional headlamps , a remarkable back, that we never saw before. bmw broke rules and set up new milestones for a car.

I have to admit that, this is a really powerful and iconic design. A very big step of bmw. however, as I just mentioned, "who are we deisning for?". the bmw designer did a exellent design, but forgot the real customers. this fact was also shown by the sell numbers. this bmw 7 is not as popular as it should be. it has been beat hard by Mercedes s class. (see pic below)

a real successful design, high classic, noble and luxus, though it expresses a more conservative image. this s class was addressed on the exact right position on the market. 2 weeks ago, the newest bmw 7 has come out. we can clearly see that, the design goes a step back and shows a more mature, cleaner design. maybe, some designers will say, there is nothing new on this car, but don't forget and ask yourself "Whom ar you designing for?"

the new bmw 7