Ford, Volvo top 2014 EyesOn Design awards

Fri, 17 Jan 2014

Each year at the Detroit Auto Show, the top vehicle designs are recognized with the prestigious EyesOn Design award for production and concept vehicles. This year, the 32 EyesOn Design judges (comprised of current and former vehicle designers including Chrysler designer and SRT president Ralph Gilles, Kia designer Peter Schreyer and retired General Motors designer Wayne Cherry) handed out three awards for the Best Concept Vehicle, Best Production Vehicle and Innovative Use of Color, Graphics, and Materials.

Beating out the Mercedes C-Class and Ford F-150, the 2015 Ford Mustang was named the Best Production Vehicle as the top auto show debut at this year's Detroit show. The 2014 Volvo Concept XC Coupe took home awards as the Best Concept Vehicle and for its Innovative Use of Color, Graphics and Materials.

Considering the Volvo's primer grey hue and subtle orange accents, it was a rather surprising winner for Innovative Use of Color, Graphics, and Materials over flashier concepts like the Toyota FT-1 and our Editors' Choice top pick, the Kia GT4 Stinger. Other vehicles in the running for the concept car award include the GT4 Stinger and Audi Allroad Shooting Brake

Scroll down for more the EyesOn Design press release as well as the full list of judges.

Volvo, Ford Win 2014 EyesOn Design Awards at NAIAS

EyesOn Design announced the winners of the EyesOn Design Awards at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) on Tuesday during the show's press previews. The Awards, honoring vehicles making their auto show debuts in Detroit, were selected by over 30 judges. The judges are active or retired heads of design at automotive manufacturers and chairs of transportation design education programs. Chief judges Ralph Gilles (SVP - Product Design, Chrysler Group), Jack Telnack (retired VP of design, Ford Motor Company), and Chuck Pelly (chief creative officer of Intersection) discussed the merits of each finalist and the winner during the press conference.

The Volvo Concept XC Coupe took home two awards: the Award for Innovation Use of Color, Graphics, and Materials, sponsored by Axalta Coating Systems, and the Award for Best Concept Vehicle, sponsored by Dassault Systemes. Thomas Ingenlath, SVP of design at Volvo Cars, accepted the awards.

Other finalists for Innovative Use of Color, Graphics, and Materials were the Audi allroad shooting brake Concept and the Toyota FT1 Concept. The other finalists for Best Concept Vehicle were the Kia GT4 Concept and the Toyota FT1 Concept.

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 for Ford. The other finalists for Best Production Vehicle were the 2015 Ford F-150 and the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

In addition, Peter Schreyer, president and chief design officer of Hyundai Motor Company, presented the Design Catalyst Award. The Award, sponsored by Lacks Wheel Trim System, gives the year's EyesOn Design Lifetime Achievement Award winner the opportunity to celebrate someone who has supported their work as a designer. This year's award went to Hartmut Warkuss, formed design chief at Volkswagen.

The EyesOn Design Awards at the North American International Auto Show benefit the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, a division of the Henry Ford Health System Department of Ophthalmology.

Judges

The Awards are selected by active and retired design heads of automotive manufacturers and transportation design chairs from top art schools.

The 2014 panel is led by three chief judges:

Ralph Gilles, President and Chief Executive Officer – SRT Brand and Motorsports, Senior Vice President - Product Design, Chrysler Group LLC
Chuck Pelly, Founder and Former President of Designworks/USA, Chief Creative Officer, Intersection-Inc, and 2004 EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award winner
Jack Telnack, Vice President of Design (ret.), Ford Motor Company, and 2006 EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award winner

The 2014 judges will include:

Mark Adams, VP, Opel/Vauxhall Design, General Motors
Charles Allen, SVP and GM (ret.), Honda R&D Americas
Anne Asensio, VP, Design Experience, Dassault Systemes
Moray Callum, VP, Design, Ford Motor Company
Chris Chapman, Chief Designer, Hyundai Design Center
Wayne Cherry, VP of Design (ret.), General Motors and the 2013 EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award winner
David Cohen, Lead Designer, Subaru
Dan Darancou, Chief Design, CH-Auto
Willie G. Davidson, Chief Styling Officer Emeritus, Harley-Davidson
Kevin Hunter, president, Calty Design Research, Toyota Motor Corporation
Dereck Jenkins, Design Director, Mazda Design America
Hubert Lee, Creative Director, Mercedes-Benz R&D North America
Ikuo Maeda, General Manager, Mazda Design Division
Jens Manske, Executive Director, Design Center California, Volkswagen Group of America
Dave Marek, Senior Chief Designer and Director of Auto Design, Honda R&D Americas
Tom Matano, Executive Director, School of Industrial Design, Academy of Art University
Osamu Namba, Chief Executive Designer, Subaru
Keith Nagara, Director, Transportation Design Program, Lawrence Technological University
Ken Parkinson, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Design and Architecture, General Motors
Steve Pasteiner, President, Advanced Automotive Technologies
Stewart Reed, Chair, Transportation Design, Art Center College of Design
Tom Roney, Professor, Transportation Design, College for Creative Studies
Pat Schiavone, Vice President, Global Consumer Design Whirlpool Corporation
Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer, Hyundai Motor Group, and 2014 EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award winner
Joe Simpson, Supervisor in Vehicle Design, Royal College of Art and Design
Mark Trostle Sr., Director of Design, Roush Industries
Taro Ueda, VP, Design, Nissan Design America
Franz VonHolzhausen, Design Director, Tesla Motors
Gorden Wagener, Head of Design, Daimler AG

By Jeffrey N. Ross