Polestar, the Swedish electric performance car brand led by designer Thomas Ingenlath, launched its 2021 vision of future mobility Design Contest under the theme of ‘progressive’.
The contest features both student and professional categories, with initial designs submitted in the form of sketches or digital images. Designs should display new ways of thinking that could encourage positive change in society, including responses to the ongoing climate crisis. The progressive theme should be evident in the designs.
“In a landscape of disruptive technologies, evolving lifestyles and fast-growing concern for climate change, design can be the driving force for positive change. We believe our Contest provides a great platform for the design community to visualise progressive mobility ideas of the future,” says Maximilian Missoni, Head of Design at Polestar.
The 2020 contest drew over 600 applications from across the world. Entries included an array of cutting-edge design concepts, from prosthetic springboard blades for walking, to an autonomous pod, to a luxury yacht that exuded Polestar’s minimalistic design tonality. One of the winning designs was an airship that looked 20 years ahead, combining Polestar’s design ethos with a 21st century aviation approach. The design did not need to be a car, but it needed to be ‘a Polestar’.
An exclusive feature of the global Polestar Design Contest is the coaching and support it offers. Shortlisted submissions will receive guidance and feedback with Head of Design Maximilian Missoni, Polestar designers and sustainability lead.
A unique prize awaits the winners, who will be flown to either Polestar Chengdu or Polestar Headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden to attend the Polestar Design Exhibition, as well as to experience both the brand and the cars up close. The winning designs in each category will be brought to life as 1:5 scale models and an exhibition of the winning designs will then tour Polestar Spaces around the world. This unique opportunity to promote the designers’ work during the inaugural contest last year even caught the eye of Demna Gvasalia, Creative Director at Balenciaga, who chose to integrate the designs within the fashion brand’s virtual AW show in 2020.
To aid in their continued development as designers, winners will also receive a computer and tablet, along with a trophy.
“Polestar is a design-born, purpose-led electric car brand, on a mission to accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility,” explains Juan Pablo Bernal, Senior Interior Design Manager at Polestar, and curator of the @polestardesigncommunity Instagram page. “We feel the ‘progressive’ theme provides a unique canvas for designers around the world to express their creativity in the pursuit of our shared goals.”
