Polestar launches global car design contest

Polestar designers (from left) Maximilian Missoni, Juan Pablo Bernal and Nahum Escobedo. Photo: Polestar

Ever dreamed of being a car designer? Now’s your chance as break-out brand Polestar has launched an annual design contest that sees amateurs working with professionals to create vehicles.

It’s not a surprise as Polestar’s CEO, Thomas Ingenlath, is a car designer and was previously Senior Vice President Design at Volvo Cars.

Polestar is jointly owned by Volvo Car Group and its parent company Geely. It is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden with production taking place in Chengdu, China.

Running this year from 23 June to 26 October, the contest will uniquely see Polestar designers coaching shortlisted contestants and modellers assisting to bring their creations to life.

The contest requires entrants to design a new type of Polestar “that stretches the boundaries of imagination, 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”.

The contest has both student and professional designer categories, with initial designs submitted in the form of sketches or digital images. 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 modelled in the same ways as all Polestar designs – in the Gothenburg-based design centre.

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.

“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.

Polestar is an innovative brand, owned by Volvo. Photo: Polestar

“It was clear that Polestar, as a new brand with a strong design focus, presents a broad, blank canvas for design exploration,” said Bernal.

“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.”

For Missoni, he recognises the “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”.

“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.”

Details for the contest are here.