CLEVELAND — Ever since Ryan Nagode graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2003, he’s had a notebook where he keeps his ideas.

What You Need To Know

  • A Cleveland Institute of Art alum designed a truck on display at the Cleveland Auto Show. 

  • Ryan Nagode graduated from CIA in 2003 and designed a Ram concept truck.

  • His design started as a doodle in his notebook. 

“All this just starts in a little doodle in a notepad, which is pretty cool," Nagode said. "So you’ll find most artists tend to carry something around like this. Sometimes ideas just come out of you from nowhere and you have to capture it.”

The new Ram Revolution truck is one of those ideas. It evolved from a doodle into a design and now it’s a concept truck on display at the Cleveland Auto Show. He turned his industrial design degree into a career as the chief designer for Ram Interiors. 

“It’s great to be able to come back, have a vehicle that I was a part of and worked on, have it be in the place where it all started in that sense," Nagode said. 

He was a part of the design of the front trunk, or as he calls it a “frunk,” which has an opening that allows for more storage room. 

Nagode said his degree taught him to think like an artist, and a good designer is always thinking about their next project. 

“Being able to instantly get an idea, even just get it out to the team," Nagode said. "Hey, this is something we're thinking about. Here’s a doodle. Let's work on this a little bit more. Thats a big part about what you learn in school."

Nagode said the concept truck won’t be for sale, but its designs may be used in future projects, including when Ram unveils its first-ever electric truck next year. 

“It’s meant to be, what’s the next 7 to 10 years of Ram trucks. Where do we see the future going?” Nagode said.