A few lucky youngsters got a chance to showcase their designing talent at a design challenge organised by Ferrari in association with Autodesk
Story: Ravi Chandnani
Photography: Ferrari
Italians have always been known for their extremely intricate design knowledge, which is evidenced by their gorgeous cars. Ferrari is by far the biggest example of art on four wheels as they make some of the fi nest looking cars that enthral enthusiasts round the world. In an attempt to extend their global reach and understand the styling trends round the world Ferrari had organised a design contest in association with Autodesk, renowned for their designing and 3D modelling software.
For this contest Ferrari invited 50 top design colleges and institutes from all over the world to showcase their own ideas of a Ferrari sportscar. Of the 50 only seven made it to the list of top fi nalists. Pune’s very own DSK International School of Design also featured in this list. Although it was not among the top three, we are still proud that it was the fi rst Indian college to appear in such a prestigious list. Let’s take a look at DSK School of Design and the top three fi nishers.
The Royal College of Art (RCA), London
Thi d pl ace Finnisher
The RCA is known to be one of the fi nest colleges for art education in the world and many students from around the world choose the RCA to pursue their dream in arts. RCA’s vehicle design department is recognised as a global centre of excellence in education and research where future professionals get creative, technical, intellectual and communication training to shape the future of mobility and introduce freshness in vehicle design. It is also the only college in the world that has a post-graduate programme dedicated to vehicle design. Three teams consisting of students of various nationalities presented three unique concepts equipped with alternative power sources and serving various purposes. The team of Henry Cloke and Qi Haitao eventually won the second runner-up prize of one VIP pass for each student to an F1 race.
Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), Turin
Second place˙ Finisher
IED, Turin, is known throughout the world for producing some of the best transportation designers and is also recognised as a school for excellence for everything related to automotive designing. IED offers various courses in the field of design, fashion, visual communication and management. It is present in many parts of Italy, Spain and also in Sao Paolo, Brazil. But the most well-known centre for transportation design is located in Turino and students from this centre won the first runner-up trophy for their idea of a future Ferrari. This particular centre is among the best in the world for industry exposure as there are many well-known automotive companies in the Turino region. IED Turin also receives students from around the world and the concept that came second in the contest was made by a student who hails from Azerbaijan. He won a prize of 5,000 Euros (Rs 3.19 lakh) and a three-month internship at Ferrari.
Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea
The Winder
The Hongik University is more than half-a-century old and is the leading college in Korea for designing courses. The industrial design department at the Hongik University has courses in transportation design, product design and space design. The method of teaching is unique especially for concept ideation. Specialisation in transport design begins in the second year of the under-graduate programme when the students learn to improve their artistic skills and sketching abilities. The third year exposes them to the digital side of modelling when they learn how to make clay models and render a design in the virtual world. They are also taught about the structure and history of transportation. In the fourth year students participate in sponsored projects and also work on their respective major projects for the degree show. Three Korean students from the Hongik University were crowned the winners at the 2011 Ferrari Design Contest as their idea of a future Ferrari had a lot of potential in terms of the material used and proposed power sources for the concept. Their design also featured Ferrari’s traditional F1 design heritage. Kim Cheon Ju, Ahn Dre and Lee Sahngseok won a three-month internship at Ferrari and a prize of 10,000 Euros (Rs 6.39 lakh).
DSK International School of Design
The International School of Design of France is one of the leading design schools in the world and has trained hundreds of students who have created their own identity in the automotive industry and design studios the world over. Today this very institute gives Indian students an opportunity to taste the world in India itself. The DSK group is responsible for getting ISD to India. The campus is located in Pune and anyone who wishes to take up automotive designing can join and discover how big institutes like the ISD function and can experience true international design and styling trends that are taught here. Three French students of the DSK ISD created two different concepts that were among the top seven in the Ferrari Design Contest.
