CDN–GM/PATAC Interactive Design Competition China winners announced

The winners of the CDN-GM/PATAC Interactive Design Competition China have been announced during Car Design Night at The Waterhouse in Shanghai on April 20, 2013.

The inaugural Chinese installment of the popular student design competition has been a huge success, with 1,241 submissions during the five-month process.

February saw an amazing number of last-minute entries that ensured a tough decision when the judges, including Brian Nesbitt, vice president of Design at GM International Operations, Michael Simcoe, executive director – Global Design GMIO at Holden, Min Cao, chief designer/Advanced Design director at PATAC, Burt Wong, executive deputy director of PATAC Design Department at PATAC, and Holt Ware, executive Design director at PATAC, met to choose a winner last month.

Six finalists, who submitted under the aliases 'Cheney', 'JOKER', and '小野狼' for the Buick brief and 'Hekuang', '豪杰', and 'Random Lu' for the Chevrolet brief, were chosen and their names released on the competition website in March. All six were invited to the exclusive ceremony in Shanghai for the final announcement.

Out of more than 180 entries and six finalists, the three winners are:

Design the new Lacrosse
Cheney Che ('Cheney'), age 20, from Jiangnan University

Design the E-Camaro
Zhai Haojie ('豪杰'), age 23, from Dalian Polytechnic University

Kuang He ('Hekuang'), age 22, from Jincheng College of NUAA

All three students were awarded an internship with GM in China and exceptional global exposure for their skills and talent. By attending Car Design Night in Shanghai, all six finalists had the opportunity to meet and speak to designers from all over the world, as well as representatives from General Motors and PATAC.

The interactive website had more than 2,600 comments over the course of the five-month competition and the growth and development of the students was visible. GM designers actively encouraged and critiqued entries, and the cooperation and encouragement between participants was impressive. Although only three winners were selected, the chance to interact with professionals on a global stage meant that all of the students who participated took something away from the competition.

The conclusion of the CDN-GM/PATAC Interactive Design Competition China marks the end of another chapter in the history of the CDN-GM Interactive Competitions, following the resounding success of the European and North American competitions.

Car Design News would like to thank all of the entrants for making this competition a success. The interaction and active participation of everyone makes these competitions work, and CDN hopes you all enjoyed the process.

You can view all the entries on the official competiton website.

By Andrew Meehan