Michelin Challenge Design announces 2008 jury

Michelin Challenge Design, known for enticing some of the world's most talented up and coming designers, has convened its 2008 panel of judges. The eight automotive design experts met July 16-17, 2007, at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, to select the vehicle designs and concepts for special exhibition at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next January.

This year marks the seventh year for the international competition with a record 272 individual designers, teams, studios, and companies from over 50 countries submitting full-size vehicles, scale models and computer-generated renderings in support of the central theme, 'Safer. Smaller. Better.'

This year's theme challenges designers to create enhanced safety through design innovations in areas such as accident avoidance, enhanced driver controls, survivability and visibility. Designers were encouraged to "throw away the book" and to consider designs that present innovative approaches to vehicle ingress and egress, side impact protection, occupant protection volume, seating arrangement, vehicle dimensions and proportions.  Designers were asked to recognize those concerns and through design concepts, provide an enhanced 'feeling' of security in smaller vehicles.

Each work submitted for the 2008 Michelin Challenge Design will be reviewed by a jury of eight judges listed below (in alphabetical order):

Luigi Colani - Legendary Industrial Designer. Born in Berlin in 1928, Luigi Colani embarked on his career as a designer in Paris in the early 1950s, focusing at first on automobile design. After studying aerodynamics at the Sorbonne, he worked in the U.S. for aircraft-maker Douglas. In 1953, he moved to Simca in France where he developed the very first fully plastic car body. Returning to Berlin, Colani started to devise prize-winning chassis designs for high-end car body makers Erdmann & Rossi and Rometsch. He advanced his plastic designs which culminated in the 1960s in the shape of his compact Colani GT sports car. In 1972, Colani established a 'Design factory' that gave a new shape to almost all spheres of life with innovative shapes and revolutionary concepts to bear. In the early 1980s, Colani started work for Canon, Sony, and for Mazda, along with many other companies with a lifestyle focus. His design for the Canon T90 SLR camera became world famous and in 1988 Colani's organically shaped headphones for Sony, the very first of their kind, became a permanent display at the New York Museum of Modern Art. Colani was recently voted the 'best designer in the world' by the International Automobile Association (FIA).

Geza Loczi - Director of Design at the Volvo Monitoring Concept Center. Before entering the automotive industry, Loczi studied his craft at the Art Center College of Design. In 1980, Loczi joined Volkswagen as Design Manager, Michigan Studio. This was the beginning of his international experience. Following Volkswagen, Loczi established his own consulting design company, Loczi Design. In 1983, Loczi worked as a consultant to Volvo through Designworks, Chuck Pelly Design, an international design office in California. Loczi then moved to Sweden, with his family, to work with Volvo. Loczi moved back to California with Volvo's consultants, Designworks, in 1985. In 1986, when Volvo set up their own studio in California, he was appointed Chief Designer, Volvo Monitoring and Concept Centre. Since 1986 Loczi has contributed to products such as the Environmental Concept Car (ECC), P2 cars in production today (S80, V70 and S60), and recently, the Safety Concept Car (SCC) shown recently at the Detroit Auto Show.

Victor Nacif - Vice President, Design Business Aspect, at Nissan Design America, Inc. His areas of responsibility include Process, Perceived Quality, Modeling, Technical Design, Administration and Human Resources at NDA's two design studios, located in San Diego, California and Farmington Hills, Michigan. Since joining NDA in June of 2004, Nacif has been engaged in instilling better practices and organized methodology for increased efficiency and effectiveness for better coordination among Nissan Design affiliates worldwide. Nacif has a truly international background. Prior to joining Nissan, he worked at PSA Peugeot Citroen in France for nine years in various capacities, eventually as the Director of Design from 2000 to 2004. He has lived in the U.S., England, Italy, Germany and Japan while working at Ford Motor Company for 16 years in various design management positions.

Dave Rand - Executive Director, Global Advanced Design at General Motors (Effective Aug 1st) - is responsible for GM's advanced vehicle design studios located in Warren, Michigan, Los Angeles, California, and Birmingham, England. Named as one of the Top 50 Industry Players by Motor Trend Magazine for 2007, Rand's team leads the development of the company's concept vehicles and explores new directions of automotive design. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Executive Director of Interior Design Quality and Brand Character working on some of GM's most important new products, including the Saturn Sky and Aura, Pontiac Solstice, Chevy Tahoe and Silverado and Cadillac Escalade. As General Director of Design at GM do Brasil, Rand led the team that created the Celta, new Corsa and Meriva compact monocab. He began his career with GM at as an associate creative designer in 1978 and went on to hold key design positions in the studios of Oldsmobile, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn and Advanced Design, the latter as its Executive Director.

Stewart Reed - Michelin Challenge Design Jury Chairman - for the third consecutive year - is Chairman of the Transportation Design Department at the Art Center College of Design. Stewart Reed Design in Holland, Mich., opened its doors in 1994 to consult with the automotive and consumer manufacturing industries. First among his many designs were the Meyers Manx and Manx SR. Reed's design career includes nine years at Chrysler's advanced design department; six years as the chief designer of Toyota's California advanced design studio; and eight years as vice president of design with Prince Corporation, now part of Johnson Controls.

Frank Saucedo - Director of Advanced Design at General Motors in Los Angeles - oversees a staff of 30 designers, sculptors, analysts and engineers. He joined GM in 1984 as a designer with the company's European subsidiary Adam Opel AG. He returned to the States and served in the capacity of Assistant and eventually Chief of Design in the company's Advanced Concepts Center. After a brief tenure at the helm of Volkswagen's Simi Valley, Calif., design center, he returned to GM in 2002 to lead the L.A.-based team. Since opening, the studio has spearheaded the development of several noteworthy projects, including the Chevrolet Borrego, Chevrolet SS concept and Pontiac Solstice.

Freeman Thomas - Strategic Design Director, Ford Motor Company - leads the advanced design teams in California and Michigan. In addition to developing product design strategies and concept vehicles for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, his team collaborates with the company's Advanced Product Creation team to create compelling new production vehicles. Before Ford, Thomas was head of DaimlerChrysler's Pacifica Advanced Design Center. He also served as vice president of DaimlerChrysler Advanced Product Design Strategy, chief designer at Volkswagen and in design positions with Audi and Porsche. His design career includes the 500-hp Dodge Tomahawk motorcycle, the "Noble American Sedan" strategy that evolved into the production Chrysler 300C, the Audi TT concept and the Volkswagen Concept 1, known today as the New Beetle.

Geoff Wardle - Associate Chair, Art Center College of Design, Transportation Design Department - has spent over 20 years as a professional designer and design educator. Companies he's worked with include British Leyland, Chrysler, PSA, International Automotive Design (IAD), SAAB Automobile, Ford Australia and Tatra of the Czech Republic. He was Chair of Transportation Design at the Art Center College of Design's campus in Switzerland, before returning to the school's Pasadena campus.

Complete information on the Michelin Challenge Design, including themes, news and details, is available at www.michelinchallengedesign.com
 

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