GREENVILLE, S.C., May 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Michelin today recognized visionaries who addressed mobility solutions mega-cities might face in the year 2035, as part of the 2019 Michelin Challenge Design competition.   

Works by individuals and teams of designers from China, Colombia, Germany, India, Italy, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States were among the winners and finalists selected by a distinguished jury of the world's top automotive designers and industry experts.

Created by Michelin in 2001 to encourage and recognize the global design community, Michelin Challenge Design has become one of the most prestigious design competitions, thanks in part to its jury members, who are often the advanced design leaders for major automakers.

This year's theme, "Inspiring Mobility," challenged the participants to design a mobility solution that will evoke a personal connection around joy, trust, security or freedom for users in Berlin, Mumbai, New York, São Paulo or Shanghai in 2035.

Winners of the 2019 Michelin Challenge Design, "Inspiring Mobility"

The three winning designs and 12 finalists were chosen by the jury from more than 1,500 entrants representing 71 countries. In the past 19 years, Michelin Challenge Design has received more than 14,000 entries from 134 countries. 

Representatives from the first-, second- and third-place winners are invited as guests at the "Movin'On Summit," the premier global sustainable mobility event held in Montreal. The winners and their designs will be recognized during a private reception and awards ceremony at Movin'On. Winners will also participate in a private portfolio review with members of the jury.

"The discussion that we are hearing in the mobility sector is primarily around technology. We wanted to use Michelin Challenge Design as a catalyst — a way to get to the root emotion and core question that we want that technology to answer. That is a very underserved part of the mobility discussion," said Ben Ebel, lead user experience designer, Michelin North America, and chairman of Michelin Challenge Design.

"We've forgotten about the journey," Ebel said. "Whenever we talk about mobility, it's all about efficiency and movement. Whether it be people or boxes. In fact, a lot of multimodal systems don't differentiate between these two. What we are seeing here, in these entries, is a different vision that forces you to humanize the experience."

Finalists of the 2019 Michelin Challenge Design (in alphabetical order):

In addition, to promote the importance of sketches in the ideation process of mobility design, the jury and program managers have created a new recognition for design sketch. This year, Alberic Chevallier of Nantes, France, was chosen for the design entry "Breathe."

"Michelin Challenge Design is the most important global design competition for emerging young talent. One of the most exciting things about Challenge Design is that we get entries from all over the world, so it gives us a very unique lens into different cultures, places and geographies. The solutions presented in this program approached the mobility and transportaiton environment through the lens of what makes it a human experience, with focus on freedom, trust, security and especially joy," said Stewart Reed, Art Center College of Design in California and Michelin Challenge Design jury chairman.

Images of the winning entries are available at www.michelinchallengedesign.com.

The Michelin Challenge Design Jury:

• Stewart Reed, chair, Transportation Design Department, Art Center College of Design, consultant and jury chairman, Michelin Challenge Design
• Chris Chapman, chief designer, Hyundai Design North America
• Dave Marek, Acura global creative director, Honda R&D Americas, Inc.
• Craig Metros, design director, North American Truck, S.U.V. & Commercial, Ford Motor Company
• Damien Michelin, honorary juror, Michelin North America
• Louise Pelletier, director, Centre de Design, UQAM
• Richard Plavetich, general manager, design business, Nissan Design America
• Thomas Sycha, design manager, BMW Group Design, Europe
• Freeman Thomas, former global advanced design director, Ford Motor Company

About Michelin North America

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The Company has earned a long-standing reputation for building innovative premium tires.  In addition to tires, the Company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs about 22,700 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants. Forbes magazine has ranked Michelin No. 1 on its annual survey of "Best Large Employers in America" for 2018.

SOURCE Michelin

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