Volvo and Ford both received accolades at the annual EyesOn Design Awards, presented by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology yesterday. The two vehicles were selected by over 30 judges, including chief judges Ralph Gilles (SVP – Product Design, Chrysler Group), Jack Telnack (retired VP of design, Ford Motor Company), and DesignworksUSA founder Chuck Pelly, currently chief creative officer of Intersection.
The Volvo Concept XC Coupe took home two awards — one for the most Innovative Use of Color, Graphics, and Materials, and another for Best Concept Vehicle. Thomas Ingenlath, SVP of design at Volvo Cars, accepted the award on behalf of his talented design team (Maximillian Missoni, Robin Page, Jonathan Disley, Juan Pablo Bernal, Jon Mayer, Daniel Forsgren and Niklas Palm).
The Concept XC Coupe won the prize over the Kia GT4 Stinger and the Toyota FT-1 concepts in the Best Concept Vehicle category and edged out the Audi Allroad Shooting Brake and the FT-1 concepts to take home the Innovative Use of Color, Graphics and Materials category.
The 2015 Ford Mustang won the award for Best Production Vehicle. Joel Piaskowski (design director), Doyle Leston (design chief, interior), Kemal Curic (design manager, exterior) and William Mangan (design manager, interior) accepted the award. The other finalists for Best Production Vehicle were the 2015 Ford F-150 and the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Peter Schreyer, president and chief design officer of Hyundai Motor Company, received the EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement award, given annually by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. Schreyer, who now oversees design strategy for both the Kia and Hyundai brands initiated the design-led strategy at Kia became responsible for the signature ‘tiger nose grille’ which identifies many current models.
Schreyer presented the Design Catalyst Award to former head of Volkswagen Design Hartmut Warkuss, known for his role in the design of the Bugatti Veyron, the VW Concept One and the Audi TT concept among others.
