Stephen Harper (designer)

Stephen Joseph Harper (born August 1958)[1] is a British designer who works primarily in the automotive industry. He is responsible for a number of cars including the MG F, Ford Escort RS Cosworth, and the 2010 Volvo C70. Founding design education took place at the Royal College of Art in London from 1979 to 1980, following earning an apprenticeship to the Austin Motor Company (a part of British Leyland) in Longbridge, Birmingham in 1978.

Stephen Harper in his studio

In his early days at Austin Rover Stephen worked on the Austin Montego, Rover 800 as well as a large number of unreleased cars, working at the Canley Studios in Coventry.

Stephen then moved to Volvo BV in the Netherlands to help with the Volvo 480 and Volvo 440 before returning to the UK to work for MGA. It was here that Stephen was responsible for the design of various Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ford and with Rover Special products, creating the initial design for the MGF as well as a number of other niche Rovers that weren't released.

During that time, he also designed the Rediffusion Concept 90 generation of flight training simulators, as well as being, in 1989, the first European automotive designer to work in China.

In 1993, he established his own design consultancy SHADO Ltd (SHADO is the acronym of "Steve Harper Art & Design Organisation") as a Design Consultancy, as managing director, creating mobility scooters, entertainment ride simulators, commercial vehicles and sports cars, along with the vehicles for the MARS2112 restaurant, in New York. Stephen's 2nd secondment to Volvo (this time in Sweden) was in 2000, when he became influential in the creation of Volvo's post-millennial re-definition of the brand, being responsible for the design of a dozen production and concept cars for the company.

Returning to the UK in 2008, he was appointed a Senior Lecturer in Design at Coventry University and also established SHADO Design as a Design Consultancy, as managing director, this time in Paignton in Devon. There followed designs of a further influential flight training simulator for THALES, the 'Reality Seven', and works in Aerospace, Defence and Automotive fields.

In 2012 he joined SAIC in Shanghai and Tokyo developing the MG Icon concept car with the Chinese design team. While in China, following this, he helped establish the Geely Design Studio in Shanghai. Between 2014 and 2016, with a unique team of interns and post graduates, they created a pair of highly individual Electric Vehicle design and prototypes.

ThaiRung Union cars in Bangkok commissioned him to design a low volume 4x4 range of vehicles, the Transformer, and there also, developed a Diesel and EV Bus, to suit the Asian commuting requirements.

His passion for design has led to success in the creation of Design and Clay Modelling MasterClass Courses, which have seen students attending for all corners of the globe.

In 2017 his extensive experience and knowledge saw him appointed as an expert witness, establishing Stephen as a highly reputable expert on Trademark and Design focused proceedings.

For two years, from mid-2018 to 2020, his role was to be the Creative Lead at Proton Holdings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as it integrated into the Geely portfolio of brands.