Winners of the Car Design Awards China winners describe their internships

With the 2015 Car Design Awards China now launched and open to entries, we caught up with some of the winners of the 2014 edition to find out about their current internships.
Four of those we spoke to had the unique opportunity to pack their bags and head west to Detroit’s CCS college in the US to take part in its annual Cultural Immersion Workshop, while two others were placed in the Shanghai studios of Geely and Qoros.

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Here they describe the highlights of their experiences so far, in their own words:

Name Guo Jiayi
Internship CCS, Detroit US
Age 23
Home town Beijing
School CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts)

"The most interesting part of my internship was working with professional designers from different countries, exchanging ideas and learning from each other. Each of us has a different point of view and style, so looking at the combination of the American and other cultures is very interesting. I have learned a lot about the American automotive culture and history.

When we arrived in the morning on the first day, four of us walked around almost the whole of Detroit. We were a bit worried about the danger but it was also very exciting. It helped us to comprehend a lot of the history of Detroit, the rise and fall of the automotive industry as well as local people's different understandings of cars. These are some things that I can't see in China."

Name Su Ao
Internship CCS, Detroit US
Age 25
Home town Shanghai
School Tongji University

"It was very interesting communicating with Japanese designers. First of all they are very strict in the way they do things and that is valuable for our lives in general. The Japanese designers were from renowned car design centers such as Toyota, Nissan and Mazda and have great design experience. I have learned a lot of design methods and concepts by communicating with them.
 
As a car designer, you must be passionate about design. I could feel the passion for cars and for design, which makes me believe that the great works of design come from a love of the craft.
 
As the country's top car design contest, Car Design Awards China is a very good platform for students who love car design. You may have an opportunity to communicate with other designers to improve your design skills. Winners could also have an opportunity to go to the US to study which is the most exciting prize."

Name Xu Jie
Internship Geely, Shanghai
Age 22
Home town Hengshui, Hebei
School China University of Mining and Technology

"In the first two months of my internship a great deal of my understanding of car design has changed. I think it's mostly the change from fantasy to reality. From the internship, I've started to understand the design process of a car that includes hand-painting, clay models and more. Also, there are structural aspects of automobiles and automobile production which need to be taken into consideration.

I feel really good about the working atmosphere in Geely, which is important for car designers to communicate and exchange ideas freely with each other. I believe that cars designed in such an environment will definitely astonish.

Car Design Awards China is a competition which is innovatively structured, solving realistic problems with a vision of future technology. What we need to do more is fully understand and think creatively about cars, then think about method and visual expression. Previous winners' artworks can perfectly explain this point."

Name Liu Ligui
Internship CCS, Detroit US
Age 25
Home town Wuhan
School Huazhong University of Science and Technology

"During the cultural workshop, the most interesting thing for me was our visit to the American Hot Rod Project in Kentucky. We saw lots of private examples which represent American hot rod culture and those unique mechanical beauties made me very excited.

As a postgraduate student, I have gained a real understanding from the CCS workshop about the impact of specific regional cultures on car design. I'd like to advise other students to view automotive design in more diverse regions where you can learn some new design ideas and broaden your horizons.

For me, this workshop is a valuable experience. Not only because I've made lots of great friends and learned from excellent teachers but also had an opportunity to learn about and experience American automotive culture."

Name Zhu Luyao
Internship CCS, Detroit US
Age 23
Home town Wuhan
School Wuhan University of Technology

"The most interesting part was when we students from China, professional designers from Japan, and professors at CCS were sketching in the same studio; each group naturally represented its own characteristics and techniques. Although it is not absolutely right, Japanese designers tended to care more about the clearness of idea visualization during the process, while professors emphasized stimulating idea generation for most of the time. As for us students, we showed advantages on creative ways of using drawing materials to express special visual effects, and involving new technologies in our designs.
 
The most impressive point that I have learned is that speed is more important than precision for a designer. As Brian Baker, one of our instructors, pointed out, it could be very valuable for a designer to generate as many ideas as possible in a very short time. And also as a designer, it is necessary to see something out of design, such as thoughts and patterns hiding in different societies.

During the whole placement the Japanese designers and us are busy learning languages from each other, and we have agreed to cooperate on publishing books called LEARNING CHINESE/JAPANESE IN 4 WEEKS after this placement!
 
My advice for the participants is not to be limited by the design briefs of the contest. It is better to take the brief as a start, rather than a target. It seems that the judges, as well as companies, really like to see something extremely advanced, and solutions that creatively combine feasible technologies. In addition, no matter whether the design is production, virtual or conceptual, the expression of design process must be complete, which contains inspirations and ideation development and finally focuses on one or two clearly visualized core ideas.

This has been a really precious experience in my career."

Name Yue Zhen
Internship Qoros, Shanghai
Age 21
Home town Heze, Shandong
School Shandong University Of Art and Design

"I think I'm very lucky. I'm currently taking part in the LA Design Challenge project with the Qoros team. It's the most important professional competition in the world. I have learned a lot from this project and continue to do so.

As Qoros is an international company, the design department is also very diverse with people from Italy, Australia, Spain, India, the UK and so on. Although we have different cultures and speak English as a second language, it doesn't affect the trust between colleagues. I believe working with an international team is the greatest experience I've ever had. I still remember when I came through the entrance and saw lots of people from different countries working together – it really astonished me.

The two things I have learned are: teamwork and to seek permission to pursue my ideas. Also to never copy other people's work, do your own and then the judges will be able to feel your passion through your work.

I have learned a lot and have had great fun with the team. I want to thank Qoros for offering me such a great opportunity."

Related articles:
Car Design Awards China 2014 winners announced

By Owen Ready