Ford Motor Co. is undergoing a shift to a worldwide design for its brand, to be achieved by both a restructuring of its design unit under the direction of J Mays and the potential sale of its luxury brands.

Mays, the company's vice president of design and chief creative officer, told Automotive News that "everyone's" focus would be slightly altered but he did not share details.

The new design "language" in development will take the place of both the current European and American design themes and is being created by designers Martin Smith in Europe and Peter Horbury in North America.

Currently Ford is accepting potential purchase bids for the luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover while reviewing the status of Volvo, moves that will effect the company's overall design concepts. The company divested itself of Aston Martin early in the year.

"Until we sold Aston Martin, there were eight brands, and my job was described as an inch deep and a mile wide," said Mays. "And now it's an inch wide and a mile deep."

The design restructuring is part of the automaker's overall bid to pull itself out of the slump it has suffered over the last decade and to make itself more competitive with its Asian rivals.

The process has involved internal restructuring, negotiating a more favorable contract with the United Auto Workers, the sale of some brands, and now a new look.

In third quarter earnings reports Ford posted a loss of $380 million, a distinct improvement over the $41.1 billion figure from 2006.