Magalie Debellis is an artist and industrial designer who works for General Motors as the manager of Cadillac Advanced Design, where she led the design teams responsible for the Cadillac Lyriq and Celestiq.

Magalie Debellis
Born
EducationStrate School of Design
Occupation
  • Artist, Designer
Years active2006–present

Personal life and education

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In 2006, Debellis earned a master's degree in industrial design at the Strate School of Design in Sèvres, a suburb of Paris.[1]

Career

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According to Debellis, her creative process starts by building a mood board with the design team to set the overall theme. As an industrial designer, she aims to balance form and function;[1] her specialty is the exterior design profile.[2]

Debellis was part of the GM design teams that styled the Chevrolet Corvette (C7) and sixth-generation Camaro.[3] Following that work, she has led the design of Cadillac as it electrifies its lineup; the marque is piloting the overall electrification of GM.[4] Cadillac's first electric vehicle is the Lyriq, first unveiled as a concept vehicle in August 2020, and continues with the flagship Celestiq, whose concept debuted in July 2022.[5]

For the Lyriq, the design started with theme sketches with long dash-to-axle proportions drawn by Bobin Kil, Magalie Debellis, and Jason Chen; Brian Smith, the director of exterior design for Cadillac, recalled "Magalie's themes was the clear winner. That process helped set the direction for the LYRIQ, including the all-black roof, the side-view proportion, and the dark front end."[6] The Lyriq team won a Gold Award for Automotive and Transport products from Good Design Australia in 2021.[7]

She served on the jury for a 2021 design contest that proposed future electric vehicle charging stations, organized by Electric Autonomy Canada.[8] She also has served as a judge for multiple Concours d'Elegance, including the 2019 and 2021 Concours d'Elegance of America in Plymouth, Michigan and the 2022 Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance.[9]

In addition to her car design work, Debellis is a painter and sculptor of abstract art.[1]

Notable designs

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Magalie Debellis (17 December 2020). "Femme d'influence : entretien avec Magalie Debellis, artiste et designer pour Cadillac" [Woman of influence: interview with Magalie Debellis, artist and designer for Cadillac] (Interview) (in French). Interviewed by Joanie Pietracupa. ELLE Québec. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  2. ^ Paul, James (13 September 2021). "EVs are rapidly improving. It's time to elevate Canadian highway charging". Electric Autonomy Canada. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Magalie Debellis: Lead Exterior Designer, Cadillac". GM Corporate Newsroom. Retrieved 3 January 2023. Magalie Debellis is General Motors' lead exterior designer for Cadillac, focused on design of the brand's electric vehicle portfolio. Magalie has over 14 years of automotive design experience and specializes in creating the exterior design profiles and attributes for major vehicle brands.
     Shepherding the look of the new Cadillac EV program, Magalie works with a team of designers and engineers to bring the vehicle's exterior design to life, from concept to production. She brings a passion for developing how the brand will evolve for its electric future. Magalie's work on the upcoming Cadillac electric SUV will make its public debut in spring 2020, with more vehicles to follow.
     Prior to her work on Cadillac, Magalie was a creative designer in GM's performance studio, working on the Chevrolet Corvette C7 and the current Chevrolet Camaro. She has more than 11 years of experience at GM, including stints in Australia and the United Kingdom, and is a member of GM Women in Design. Magalie has a masters' degree in industrial design, with a specialty in automotive design, from Strate School of Design in Paris, France.
  4. ^ Valdes-Dapena, Peter (August 6, 2020). "GM unveils its first fully-electric Cadillac SUV". CNN Business. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  5. ^ Pattni, Vijay (22 July 2022). "Behold: the electric Cadillac Celestiq concept". TopGear. BBC. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Exterior Design". Cadillac Lyriq. Car Design News. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Cadillac Lyriq: Gold Award". Good Design Australia. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  8. ^ Cyr, Alex (February 3, 2022). "Could this be the gas station of the future?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Design among the stars: Magalie Debellis". Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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