GM Auto Design Competition Kick-Starts Car Design Careers

WARREN, Mich., April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• Interactive competition invites interior and exterior entries for GM's four brands: Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC
• Two-part competition engages online design community to shape and select student entries
• Competition open to full-time students in North American design schools

GM Design, the industry's first and largest global automotive design function, is inviting the design community to help kick-start the car design careers of eight students in North America by launching an interactive design competition today in collaboration with Car Design News.  The competition expands the community's role in the development stages of student entries as well as the judging process using social media tools and engagement.  

The competition will consist of two phases and students are invited to design a car interior and a car exterior from briefs representing GM's four brands – Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC.  The interior phase runs today through June 30 and the exterior phase is open for entries from July 1 to Oct. 31. Both GM Design and Car Design News see the combination of digital tools and the online community as playing a part in future car design.

"Feedback and interaction are a natural part of a designer's world, but this competition takes that to a whole new level," said David Lyon, GM North America executive director of interior design. "The entire design community can help push and guide the creativity of the students, and I'm really excited to see what will result. This competition format keeps GM at the forefront of innovation in the design process."

The competition is open to students studying full time at design schools in the USA and Canada who have at least one more semester to complete after the contest ends. Participants can be at any level, from undergraduate to doctoral, and from any design discipline or field, including architecture, product, industrial design and others.  

Finalists will be invited to an exhibition of their work and award ceremony at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit in January, 2012. The eight winners will be selected by a team of judges representing GM Design and competition sponsor partners at Dassault Systems and Faurecia. The judging team will serve as online mentors to the students and supplement the advice and guidance the students receive from the wider design community. As an extension of their sponsorship, Faurecia will award a paid internship in one of their studios in Europe, Asia or North America, bringing the total number of winners to nine students.

During the competition, the students can display their inspiration and sketches – as well as shape and re-shape their entries – in an interactive process on a public website.

"Interactivity is the key," said Joe Simpson, an editor at Car Design News and jury member.  "We'd encourage students to upload their ideas, and invite the design community to provide feedback. The judging team will look for development of the design and community participation, as well as at the end result. The earlier the posting, the more feedback it can generate, the more serious the entry will be viewed."

Other judges include: Bryan Nesbitt, GM's executive director for North America Exterior Design and Global Architecture Strategy; Clay Dean, director of North America Advanced Design; Andreas Wlasak, vice president of Industrial Design at Faurecia; and Anne Asensio, vice president for Design Experience at Dassault Systems.

Visit www.cardesigncontest.com for more details of the competition and to register to enter.

About GM Design

General Motors Design is the first and largest global automotive OEM design function with a network of 10 Design Centers in eight countries around the world. Over 1,700 men and women are responsible for the design development of every GM concept and production car and truck globally. The Design Centers are located in the United States, Germany, England, Korea, China, Australia, Brazil and India.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE: GM, TSX: GMM), one of the world's largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 202,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 countries.  GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 30 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Baojun, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall, and Wuling. GM's largest national market is China, followed by the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Italy.  GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.  More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

About Car Design News

Car Design News is the leading online resource for professional car designers, with coverage of new concept and production cars, design development features, interviews with leading design directors and news from across the global design community, all backed by a 50,000-strong library of high-res images.

About Dassault Systems and Faurecia

This competition is supported by Dassault Systems, the provider of widely-used design software under the CATIA brand, and Faurecia, the Tier 1 supplier to auto makers which has a reputation for design innovation. It is modeled after the European-based program with GM's brands there, including Opel and Vauxhall.

SOURCE General Motors