LA Auto Show renovates its Design Challenge

Until last year the LA Design Challenge at the Los Angeles Auto Show has seen the participation of a number of selected automotive advanced design studios, challenged to create futuristic concepts based on a specific theme.

Now the 11 year old annual contest has evolved into a different form – titled Design and Developer Challenge – a multi-industry collaboration that brings together  creative talents from automotive, entertainment and consumer brands.

The list of participating companies include: CH Auto, Crayola, DreamWorks, General Motors, Honda R&D Americas, Hyundai Design North America, KTM, Legendary, LEGO Future Lab, Hot Wheels, National Geographic, Qoros Auto, SAIC, Trigger and Toyota.

Participants will be tasked to envision how technology, data, connectivity and content will revolutionize modern vehicle design.

This year’s theme is titled “Autonomous Vehicles: A Redefined User Experience for 2050,” and comes in response to the rise in technology’s influence on the automotive industry as self-driving vehicles take center stage.

The brief asks to invent a driverless automotive future by addressing the following:

• How cars will react to the rest of the world and change transportation infrastructure
• How and where vehicles will be used, and how people’s lives will change as a result
• How this redefined purpose will transform vehicle function and form
• What role content creators will play in shaping the new journey

Each design studio/entertainment brand team will meet with developers to cultivate the features of their concepts and bring to life each aspect in the form of storyboards/illustrations for the developer to create into an interactive experience to be presented at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Official Statements

“Developing content and experiences for the connected car today, and envisioning the role content plays in the autonomous car experience of the future, is already underway at DreamWorks Animation,” said Jim Mainard, Head of Digital Strategy & New Business Development at DreamWorks Animation.

“The LA Auto Show has created a global media stage perfectly suited to expressing a revealing look at the future of connected automobile experiences, and we are thrilled to have been invited to contribute to that vision.”

(Source: LA Auto Show)