• Who: Anthony Prozzi, senior interior designer
• Role: Interior designer, now working on next-generation interior design programs
• Did You Know? Prozzi began his design career in fashion as a designer at Donna Karan
Anthony Prozzi

Like a pencil on an artist’s pad, life moves in unexpected directions. Anthony Prozzi is proof of that. If not for a few curves, he might be a doctor, sketching and drawing as a hobby.

But life’s unpredictability and a background in fashion led Prozzi to Ford, where he’s a senior interior designer creating the clean, sculptural interiors of today’s vehicles.

“Designing for me is fun and relaxing,” said Prozzi, a graduate of the College for Creative Studies (CCS) who joined Ford in 1999. “There’s a flow, a process of putting pencil to paper and getting lost in that whole process of design. You truly go into another zone.”

The work can be challenging. Customers are demanding more content in their vehicles that helps connect their technology in a safer way, which creates more places where engineering and design intersect.

“I think the challenge to every program is making sure everyone shares the same vision,” he says. “Everyone needs to be on the same page and truly share the same goal.”

Prozzi is used to challenges. Growing up in New York, he attended a private school where his artistic bent was ignored and his acumen for math and science was encouraged. He eventually enrolled in premed at New York University, assuming he’d become a physician.

A side job at a high-end retail store changed everything.

Prozzi became immersed in the world of fashion, and his knack for aesthetics and style was noticed by a freelance stylist for “W.” He eventually became a designer at Donna Karan and later studied at the Pratt School of Art & Design in Brooklyn.

Later, he learned about the concept of transportation design and transferred to CCS. “I was very intrigued by motion and flow,” Prozzi said. “And that’s exactly what I found in vehicles.”

Prozzi finds that vehicle interiors are trending toward green and clean, with an emphasis on sculptural elegance. “Today, with all the turmoil going on in the world, I think people are seeking something really beautiful, really lasting,” he says. “They want something that will put a smile on their face.”

He finds inspiration everywhere; he always has. He remembers years ago, watching his idol Michelle Kwan skate, and noted her winning combination of inner peace and outward power. He created a vehicle interior based on her performance that led to a personal meeting with the two-time Olympic medalist. Inspired, he learned to figure skate, last year winning first place in a men’s sectional competition.

It’s all part of his creativity credo. “I think a designer has to live life, to really get out there and interact with people,” Prozzi says. “You can pull from that. That’s how you create.”

Personal Insights and Fun Facts

• Prozzi is a strong believer in sustainability not only in work but life. He lives in a house in Detroit that is geothermally heated and cooled
• Prozzi is addicted to Project Runway
• One of Prozzi’s favorite vacations was a summer in Tuscany
• Prozzi unwinds with yoga