Pininfarina announced the winners of its 2024/2025 International Design Contest during a special awards ceremony held at the company’s headquarters in Cambiano, Italy, as part of the Pistons & Pretzels event, a celebration of automotive culture. The ceremony was one of the highlights of the packed calendar of initiatives organised to mark Pininfarina’s 95th anniversary. The international competition, entitled “Materiality, the Umami of Mobility”, invited final year students from the world’s best design schools to imagine the future of living and transport through the use of innovative and emotionally engaging materials.
Chosen from hundreds of entries, eight talented finalists submitted projects embodying the core values of the competition: sustainability, sensory richness, accessibility and design appeal. Their work spanned vehicles, systems and environments, all focusing on the tactile, emotional and transformative power of materials in redefining the mobility experience of the future. The finalists represent some of the most prestigious international design schools, including the National Institute of Design (India), Strate School of Design (France), IAAD (Italy) and Hongik University (South Korea). The ceremony, conducted by Felix Kilbertus, Pininfarina’s Chief Creative Officer and coordinator of the competition, included greetings from the Pininfarina Shanghai team and members of the jury, including Anne Asensio (Vice President, Design Innovation & Experience, Dassault Systèmes), Rossella Guasco (Head of CMF Design for Stellantis brands) and Peter Stevens (renowned automotive designer), who evaluated the projects together with the Pininfarina design team.
Saikhom Krishnakanta Singh (National Institute of Design, India) with the project Deo. ‘For the poetic integration of cultural heritage, sustainable vision and innovative materials, creating a profound human connection with mobility.’
Ankita Anand (National Institute of Design, India) with Innaphi: “For the elegant fusion of softness, flexibility and cultural storytelling, offering a new sensorial dimension to urban transport.”
Finally, the special mention went to Jin Woo Choi (IAAD, Italy) for the project Inne: “A commendable exploration of spatial and material minimalism, wrapped in a calm and contemplative aesthetic.”
All winners will be awarded a professional internship at Pininfarina’s design centers in Italy or China, where they will be able to continue their growth path alongside some of the world’s most innovative designers. Now in its most recent edition, the Pininfarina Global Design Contest confirms itself as a platform for emerging talents, offering mentorship, visibility and concrete professional opportunities. This year’s challenge invited students to project themselves ten years into the future, imagining mobility solutions in urban, rural and interurban contexts, on land, in the air or on water.
