profile / alumni / transportation-design
April 09, 2025
By Solvej Schou

Transportation Design alum Daniel Jimenez shapes what's next at Nissan

ArtCenter’s Transportation Design alumni work for countless global automotive brands. Their ArtCenter education gives them the skills to enter career fields like automotive concept design, interior and exterior automotive design, watercraft design and aircraft design. This story is part of a series on four successful Transportation Design alumni, each with unique creative journeys, who impact their fields in a variety of ways.

On a bright quiet day, Nissan Studio Six Chief Designer Daniel Jimenez (BS 15) gives a tour of the cozy brick Los Angeles studio, by the beach, that he joyfully calls “a think tank.” Darth Vader and Stormtrooper helmets and small car models line the walls. In one corner are 3D printers. In the other, cushy seats and white boards. There’s a big workspace table with long curved screens.
 
Jimenez was given the opportunity to start and lead Nissan Studio Six, which launched in the U.S. in 2023 as a forward-thinking hub for global advanced design. Jimenez’s team is almost all ArtCenter alumni.

“We study fashion, soft goods and more to see how they might influence a product of the future or upcycle a design in new and innovative ways,” he says. “How does advanced architecture relate to the Nissan ecosystem? What is the next design movement out there? At Studio Six, we explore those questions early, so we can shape what’s next before it arrives. We chose to keep the studio intentionally small and focused, giving us the flexibility to move fast and think differently.”
 
Recently, the team has also been a visual effects studio of sorts for Nissan, working with cutting-edge visualization tools.
 
As for his own impact both professionally and personally, Jimenez views it as related to confidence, empathy and proactivity.
 
“I hope those three traits are my impact: not only how to be a designer, but also how to be a person,” he says. “I hope my impact is creating confidence for ArtCenter students that come through here, and for them to know that if you have a vision, don't let anyone undermine it. At the end of the day, most people won’t see it at first. But if you believe in your vision and keep pushing, it only takes one person to recognize it—and that’s often all it takes to open the door.”

Born and raised in New Jersey, Jimenez grew up in a family that loved cars and racing. When he was 13, he saw a hot-rod magazine featuring designer and alum Chip Foose (BS 90) working on a clay model, and thought, “That’s what I want to do.” After high school, he moved to L.A., took extended studies courses at ArtCenter for two years, to boost his portfolio, and then applied to and was accepted into the Transportation Design program.  

While a student, and with the help of scholarships, he worked as an exterior design intern at Nissan Design America (NDA) in San Diego, did contract work for Nissan, and then got a job, after graduating, as a Nissan senior exterior designer.  

He was sent to Nissan design studios around the world, and helped develop the award-winning Nissan Vmotion 2.0 concept vehicle and Infiniti Q Inspiration. He then worked as a senior designer at Genesis Motor America, designing the Genesis X Gran Berlinetta concept car, before going back to Nissan and heading up Nissan Studio Six. He credits much of his success to ArtCenter, having been taught by influential faculty like Adjunct Professor Ian Cartabiano (BS 97), vice president of advanced design at Toyota company Calty Design Research.  

“When I went to ArtCenter, I learned how to cut foam core, and I learned how to present,” he says. “There’s that balance of ArtCenter being free-spirited and creative, but also very disciplined.”