Swedish performance electric car manufacturer Polestar has announced the Polestar Design Contest, the first of what will become an annual event. Running this year from June 23 to October 26, the contest will uniquely see Polestar designers coaching shortlisted contestants and modelers assisting to bring their creations to life. The contest is inspired by the wealth of creativity shared by designers with Polestar’s @polestardesigncommunity Instagram page – another initiative of the Polestar Design department.
“We have experienced fantastic creative interpretation of the Polestar design philosophy from a wealth of aspiring designers all over the world,” explains Juan Pablo Bernal, Senior Interior Design Manager at Polestar, who also curates the @polestardesigncommunity Instagram. “It was clear that Polestar, as a new brand with a strong design focus, presents a broad, blank canvas for design exploration. With this contest we officially invite designers to flex their creative muscles with a view to gaining real experience and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in this field.”
The contest requires entrants to design a new type of Polestar that pushes the boundaries of imagination and looks ahead 20 years without stretching into the realm of fantasy. With ‘Pure’ as its theme – it could be a car or something else, as the designers behind the contest are keen not to limit future directions for Polestar.
Polestar head of design Maximilian Missoni, senior interior designer Juan Pablo Bernal, and exterior designer Nahum Escobedo
The contest has both student and professional designer categories, with initial designs submitted in the form of sketches or digital images. Contestants are required to submit two separate images of their design from different angles to best show the design in its entirety.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, July 27, when all submissions will be uploaded to the Polestar contest portal. Contestants will be notified by Monday, August 10, as to whether or not they’ve been shortlisted.
Shortlisted contestants will then develop their designs as digital models, with remote coaching and guidance from Polestar’s designers and Maximilian Missoni, Head of Design. The winning student and professional designers will get their designs modeled in the same ways as all Polestar designs – in the Gothenburg-based design center as highly detailed hard models.
With a different theme to the design brief each year, Polestar Design Contest winners and their models will be presented at a Polestar design exhibition – an annual event curated by Polestar Design that will tour the world in an art gallery-like environment.
“As a designer, I recognize the extremely valuable experience that can be gained by being able to work so closely with a new brand like Polestar – especially since we view this opportunity as a way we can give back to the design community and help up-and-coming designers excel,” says Missoni.
“With this contest, we aim to challenge talented designers to push boundaries and think in new directions – much like we do. I look forward to seeing some amazing designs that promote design expression in a new modern landscape.”
Visit the Polestar Design Contest website for more information and to submit your designs. Best of luck to you all!
Timing for the Polestar Design Contest in detail:
1st stage: Contest Start (5 weeks)
- Designs submitted in the form of two digital images per entry after this five-week stage.
- Format – 1920×1080 px, jpg or png
- File name format – [lastname][firstname][image1][Polestar2020]
- Upload submissions to this submission form.
2nd stage: Shortlisted Designers
- Ten professional and ten student designers will be shortlisted by Polestar Design, including design director Maximillian Missoni. They will then be developed into digital models.
3rd stage: Finalist Designers
- Five professional and five student designers will be selected as finalists. Each finalist receives further digital modeling support from Polestar Design (or its affiliates) to help attain a consistent level of quality.
4th stage: Winning Designers
- Polestar Design will announce the winners from both categories. The two winning designs will be produced as a hard model as centerpieces for the subsequent Polestar Design Exhibition
