In 1937 French rural populations did not have access to an affordable car suitable for French country roads and lifestyle.

Citroen CEO Pierre Boulanger wanted to address this problem. He gave what at first glance seems to be a strange design brief to his design team. He said he wanted an ‘Umbrella on four wheels’ that could carry two farmers – wearing their hats, and each holding a basket of eggs –across a field without any of the eggs breaking, and needed to do so carrying 50 kilograms of farm produce.

Boulanger’s brief was exceptionally clever. It placed the user in the centre: farmers. It factored in a relevant use case that was a primary problem the user faced: carrying farm produce. It had to work in their context: have enough head room and sufficient suspension for them to be able wear their hats and not break any eggs in the basket. The only technical specifications he provided where that it had to look like an ‘umbrella’ and it had to have four wheels.