Life’s a colourful tapestry. A profile of Annette Baumeister.

Annette Baumeister has been Head of Colour and Trim Design MINI since 2003. In this capacity she is responsible for everything to do with colours and materials for the exterior and interior design of a MINI – from the body paintwork to the seat upholstery design, and from the roof liner to the floor mats.

Freethinking design .

Born in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Annette Baumeister took a degree in textile design at Krefeld’s University of Applied Sciences before joining the BMW Group in 1996 as part of the BMW design team. As part of her studies she did a spell at the University of Central England which, with its very free yet conceptual approach, had a lasting impact on her. In 2003 she moved to MINI to take up the post of Head of Colour and Trim Design MINI. She sees her job as exciting and extremely multifaceted, following as it does a car’s entire gestation process from concept to advance development all the way to series production. Annette Baumeister’s portfolio of tasks is rounded off by design presentations and the development of special-edition models. She is motivated and inspired by collaborations with external designers, most recently involving Ilaria Venturini Fendi and the Dutch design duo Scholten & Baijings for the Salone del Mobile 2012.

A passion for diversity.

The richly faceted nature of the MINI brand exerts a deep fascination on Annette Baumeister. From the idea for an economical compact car to a distinguished motor sport history all the way to a cult car, MINI embraces many different aspects that grant the designer and her team wide-ranging scope for creativity –something each individual designer truly appreciates.

Annette Baumeister was fascinated by the aspects of colour and material from an early stage, and this is reflected in the way she tackles automotive design:  in the first instance she approaches it from a visual angle, while a second stage involves the hands and the tactile dimension. The handling of textures and the effect of colours invariably have a strong influence on her work. The designer sets great store by close collaboration with other areas such as sales, marketing and the markets. This means everyone can make a concerted effort towards producing a result that ultimately succeeds in introducing the customer to a new design.

On the personal side.

 In her home Annette Baumeister enjoys lighter tones, though from time to time she likes to render individual walls in contrasting colours. She draws her inspiration largely from exhibitions and travelling, which grant her insights into other cultures. Annette Baumeister is married and lives in Munich with her family.