The worth of an initiative, especially if some form of competition is involved,
is essentially measured in terms of its results: namely, the number of participants, the quality of the projects represented and the growth of the initiative itself year on year.
There are numerous design competitions open today to the young students of institutes in car producing nations, in other terms, in places where there is a particular interest in scouting for new talent for design centres.
Four years ago, a small (‘small’ only if compared with some of the giants in the global car industry) manufacturer of components for the aftermarket customisation of generally upmarket models launched a competition for car design students with a clear-cut brief:
students were asked to create original, innovative and, above all, feasible custom elements for four production and recent concept cars expressing distinctive personal character but without disrupting the design language
of the brand.
The article continues in Auto & Design no. 167