CIAS Design Forum

April 09, 2003 - The second annual World Automotive Design Competition and Design Forum was hosted by the Canadian International AutoShow (CIAS) on February 13 in Toronto, Canada.

For the Design Compretition 90 design students submitted 68 entries, representing 12 internationally recognized transportation design schools. Each team of students was asked to create a vehicle that met the realistic needs of their own markets, while at the same time recognizing the emotional elements that make a vehicle desirable.

The students' innovative solutions to this year's challenge, were judged by some of the world's foremost authorities on automotive design, representing an impressive array of critics, historians, academics, design media, and past and present active production and concept car designers.

The judging panel included:
Robert Cumberford (Automobile and Auto & Design magazines)
Akira Fujimoto (Chief Editor, Car Styling magazine)
Ken Gross (Automotive Industries and The Robb Report magazines; Chief Class Judge Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance)
Peter Horbury (Executive Director of Design, Premier Automotive Group)
Tom Tjaarda (designer of the Ford Fiesta, Ferrari California Spyder)

The twelve participating schools were:
- Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, USA
- Coventry University, School of Art and Design, UK
- Hong Ik University, Seoul, Korea
- Humber College, Toronto, Canada
- Istituto Europeo di Design, Torino, Italy
- National Institute of Design, Ahmedebad, India
- Seoul National University of Technology, Korea
- Strate College Designers, Paris, France
- Tokyo Zokei University, Japan
- Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Umea Institute of Design, Sweden
- University of Tsukuba, Japan

First prize of US$10,000 went to Kim Sung Joong, Hong-IK University, Seoul, Korea, for his entry 'A.D. (Advanced Driving)'. The judges described Joong's entry as "futuristic, admirable, versatile, small and sporty". They added it was "believable for Korean adaptation", with many alternative styling proposals from the same platform, while still looking innovative, useful, modern and still automotive.This young designer has created an interesting idea. "Unusual yet practical," praised the judges. Kim Sung Joong flew in from Seoul, Korea to accept the award in person from competition judge Peter Horbury.

Second prize of US$5,000 went to Per Magnus Skold, Coventry School of Art & Design, for his entry entitled 'Saab'. The judges felt that Skold's idea is "new, fresh and given some more thought could be developed into an interesting and feasible automobile." The judges thought that this entry reflected its' country of origin well in practicality, and had excellent attention to detail and consideration of local conditions.

Third prize of US$2,500 went to Timothy Shaw, Umeå Institute of Design, for his entry "UTE". This aggressive, rugged, vehicle with an unique ski attachment was "a nicely thought out design with a convincing design concept, interior details and interesting appointments which render this vehicle a convincing and practical proposal." The judges felt the entry looked tough enough for Swedish winter, reflected the Swedish sociability well and the design was ecologically friendly as per the challenge criteria.

A new award from Alias|Wavefront was presented by Peter Mehlstaeubler, Vice-President, Product Development, to Jang Yong Pil of Hong-Ik University. His entry 'Run / Turn / Stop' reflected the best overall computer generated presentation. The judges felt that the image quality and composition were consistent throughout the presentation and that the digital imagery was clear and concise. Jang Yong Pil received a copy of Alias|Wavefront DesignStudio software (valued at $7,500 USD) and a cash prize of $1,000 USD.

A special Design School Award also went to Tsingua University, Beijing, China for submitting the body of entries that most consistently reflected the character and culture of the city or country where the students live and study.

Each of the students, as well as the "Best Design School" and the school of the first place winner, received an original Inuit Inookshuk sculpture in addition to their cash prizes. The Inookshuk are stone markings placed along the roads in the Arctic symbolizing: "I have been here. I will return." The auto show organizers felt it was an apt symbol inviting students to return and participate in the third annual World Automotive Design Competition in 2004.

The complete entries can be viewed at the CAAS website: www.autoshow.ca

MSN design competition report: English French

Design Forum

Hailed as “a welcome diversity of nationalities, companies and views” by American journalist Jim McCraw and as “a good way to benchmark design thinking” by Adrian van Hooydonk, President of BMW DesignWorks, the third annual Design Forum continued the tradition at the 2003 Canadian International Auto.

Some of the world’s most influential automotive designers and innovators addressed members of the international automotive and design press:

Peter Mehlstaeubler, Vice-President of Product Development, Alias|Wavefront

Tom Matano, Director, Industrial Design Department, Academy of Art, San Francisco. Topic: "Cultural Differences in Global Automotive Design"

Doug Halbert, Executive Designer, Auto Design, Honda R&D Americas, Inc. Topic: Honda's Design Philosophy

Peter Horbury, Executive Director of Design, Ford Motor Company Premier Automotive Group (PAG). Topic: "Cars - it's all in the mind".

Clay Dean, Design Director, Small Trucks, General Motors. Topic: Design of the Chevrolet Cheyenne

Rick Aneiros, Vice-President, Design, Jeep/Truck, DaimlerChrysler. Topic: "Putting The Muscle Back Into Dodge Design"

Alfonso E. Albaisa, Associate Director of Design, Nissan Design America. Topic: "Alliances"

This was followed by a panel discussion on the topic 'Designers - Do we need them?' moderated by Jamie Kitman, New York Bureau Chief, Automobile magazine and U.S. Editor, Car (UK).

MSN report and streaming video of the Design Forum presentations: English French