Michelin announces theme for 2019 Michelin Challenge Design

Michelin North America has issued the theme for its 2019 Michelin Challenge Design competition, ‘Inspiring Mobility,’ which examines questions of why joy, trust, security or freedom are important factors in designing mobility solutions for megacities of the future.

Discussions around the future of mobility often focus on what people will drive, the technologies they will use and the brands they will prefer. To meet the world’s future economic, environmental, emotional and social needs, hundreds of billions of dollars will be spent over the next 20 years to manufacture these technologies to support sustainable mobility.

“Across the globe, millions of people are migrating to urban centres every year, which has accelerated the emergence of megacities,” said Ben Ebel, chairman of Michelin Challenge Design, Michelin North America. “What will transportation look like in these cities in 2035? We are encouraging designers to appeal to the emotional side of design by first asking why a user in a megacity would choose a particular mobility system — more than just a specific vehicle concept — and what emotional need can be met with that design.”

The 2019 Michelin Challenge Design theme, ‘Inspiring Mobility,’ invites entrants to design a mobility solution that will invoke one of several emotions — joy, trust, security or freedom — for users in Berlin, Mumbai, New York, São Paulo or Shanghai in the year 2035.

Created by Michelin in 2001 to encourage and recognise young designers, Michelin Challenge Design has become one of the most prestigious global design competitions, thanks in part to its jury members, who are often the advanced design leaders for major automakers. Since its inception, the competition has drawn more than 13,000 entries from 130 countries. Recent winners and finalists have hailed from Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States.

Entries are now open at www.michelinchallengedesign.com. Winners will be recognised at the 2019 Movin’On International Summit for Sustainable Mobility in Montreal, Canada.