CDN Interior Motives Student Design Awards 2012 deadline this Friday

The CDN Interior Motives Student Design Awards 2012 competition deadline is fast approaching, with entrants having until 11 May to submit their entries.

The theme of this year's competition – which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year – is ‘What Comes Next? Make your mark on the car of tomorrow' and is comprised of the following four briefs, devised in collaboration with Volkswagen and Peugeot:

The Next Icon
Considers the legacy of cars that have achieved iconic status in the car design automotive industry as a result of technological advances and improvements in construction and ergonomics among other things. This brief asks participants to create a concept that – owing to its social relevance and an X-Factor – has the potential to achieve that same status of ‘icon'. A look to the future should be the means to create this concept rather than the past.

A Day in the Life
Looks at the different values, needs and desires of consumers the world over. Entrants must look at the different lifestyles of people in different countries, and create a personal manifesto for personal transport for that group of people. With this manifesto participants are asked to design a car interior that satisfies their needs and desires, and to describe a day in the life of the user as they interact with the car.

Mechanical Fascination
Takes a look at the incentive for consumers to buy electric cars, which cost significantly more than their counterparts. Entrants are asked to design a car interior that will excite consumers into buying an electric car despite the premium price tag, and which conveys the beauty of electric power.

Head of State
This brief asks participants to choose a head of state of any country and design a car that communicates their specific values and attributes to the world around them.

Each winner receives $500, and from the category winners one design is selected as the overall 2012 Student Design of the Year with a top prize of $5,000. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on 26th September, which coincides with the Paris Motor Show's first press day. The work of all the finalists will be on display, while shortlisted and finalist students will have the opportunity to mingle and socialize with some of the world's most influential vehicle designers.

And for the for time the Awards is set to recognize the schools should their students pick up one of the prestigious awards.

This year's judges are: Adam Bazydlo (Senior Designer, Peugeot), Andreas Stump (Head of Advanced Interior Design, Citroën), David Woodhouse (Chief Designer, Ford Strategic Concept Group), Ernst Reim (Chief Interior Designer, Ford of Europe), Jean-Arthur Madelaine-Advenier (Interior Design Manager, Peugeot), Jurgen Uedelhoven (CEO, Uedelhoven Studios), Moray Callum (Executive Director, Ford Americas Design), Robin Page (Head of Interior Design, Bentley Motors), Romulus Rost (Head of Interior Design, Volkswagen Design Center Potsdam), Scott Strong (Global Director for Interiors, Ford), Wolfgang Mueller-Pietralla (Head of Future Affairs, Volkswagen Group Research), Euan Sey (Editor, Interior Motives) and Owen Ready (Editor, Car Design News).

To find out more please visit the competition website.

By Rufus Thompson