20 May 2019
4 Mins read

Could car design comp produce next generation of auto industry talent?

Could car design comp produce next generation of auto industry talent?

It's not something we think about very often, but someone has to sit down and design the cars we drive every day (or perhaps daydream about each time we pass a showroom).

However, some talented creatives are keen to make this their career – and there's a good chance a handful might have got a step closer to that dream after a recent automotive industry competition.

The first ever Car Design News Sketch-off took place at the London Motor and Tech Show last week and saw eight students from four Transportation Design university courses competing to win prizes and the acclaim of a panel of leading car industry designers.

Each one had to sit down and produce a complete image of their own James Bond car in just 45 minutes, then present it to the panel for judging.

The competition was designed to become a fun and non-traditional way for the next generation of car designers to show their skills off to key automotive suppliers, with the panel made up of representatives from huge brands like Nissan and Land Rover.

TV presenter Mike Brewer was able to award the grand prize to Hui Li from the Royal College of Art thanks to his innovative design including features like a wheel that detaches like a Segway.

Who knows – maybe Li's ideas could one day be featured in the new car deals we browse through as we search for our next family saloon.

Many automotive companies are now encouraging young people to study design as a way into the creative side of the car industry as opposed to engineering.

For example, MG Motors UK runs an annual SAIC Design Challenge as a way of mentoring and connecting with up-and-coming creatives that it hopes will one day be coming up with fresh MG products.

This year's theme is Intelligent Frontier 2030 and will evaluate students' design interpretation of an intelligent, connected future.