CDN-GM Interactive Design Contest 2013 winners announced

In early December, the finalist entries from the CDN/GM Interactive Design Competition were put in front of the panel of judges from General Motors and Car Design News to determine the four winners of this year's internships with GM. This year, once again, the level of work was exceptional and made for a very difficult selection. We also saw the largest number of participants and entries ever, raising the stakes of an already highly competitive field.

The judges, including Car Design News editor Owen Ready and Jeff Nield, Rob Cameron, Bregt Ectors, and Marc Tarling, strategic brand managers for Cadillac, GMC, Buick, and Chevrolet respectively, gathered at the GM Technical Center in Warren, MI, to determine the best entries and the winners of the coveted internships.

In a departure from previous competitions, the winners this year were simply the best four entries into the competition, and not selected for each particular brand. The mentors and judges were split into two main groups, and each put forth the top four designs for judging. In addition to the final design, the students' design methodology and how they took and incorporated changes and comments from the mentors during the competition were strongly considered. 

After the initial round of judging, three of the four winners were unanimously selected, leaving one internship up for grabs. After heated discussion and additional review of the submitted artwork, the final design was selected and the four winners agreed upon.

The four winners for this year's competition are (in no particular order):

The winners were announced at a ceremony on the GMC stand at the North American International Auto Show on January 14, 2014. The student finalists were first treated to a tour of the show with mentors and judges, and then the winners were announced by ??? and the winning submissions were shown and explained to the public. Because the winners were not selected for a specific brand this year, the internships were chosen to suit the individual desires of the design teams and student to create the best match. They will be:

The CDN-GM Interactive Design Competition is open to all full-time college or university students from the US and Canada, and is one of the best ways to get your work recognized on a global level. It is the perfect platform to launch a young designer's career with global exposure and a chance to interact directly with General Motors designers and students from around the world. 

The 2013 competition had students choose from four briefs for vehicles from the year 2025; a Cadillac halo concept, an iconic Chevrolet, a unique GMC crossover, or a Buick youth vehicle. This far-off date allowed more freedom for the students but also required a deeper understanding of future design strategy and brand awareness than in recent years.

The CDN-GM Interactive Design Competition is unique online experience in that it in addition to industry mentors, it encourages students to comment and interact with each other to improve and perfect their entries. Through lively discussion in the site's comments section, mentors and the public can interact to influence the outcome of the projects and follow the progress of the submission in real time.

By Drew Meehan