The VDA Design Award, now announced for the fourth time, is intended for newcomers to the international design profession, to encourage them in a visionary approach to the subject of freight transport by road.
Subject and Task
Over the last few years the commercial vehicle and superstructure manufacturers organised in the VDA have made great efforts to improve their products in terms of transport efficiency, environmental protection and vehicle safety. Yet there is no question of them resting on their laurels; on the contrary, they intend to continue this initiative, and to further optimise the road-transport system.
The task set by the competition is to produce concepts and to design visionary solutions for commercial vehicles in all segments of future freight transport by road. The particular aim is to achieve maximum transport efficiency, i.e. to consider freight transport holistically, taking the whole transport chain into account.
The designs submitted must satisfy the following parameters:
- The considerable rise in freight transport by road to be expected in the future.
- Environmental protection and environmental friendliness of product, taking both rising energy costs and alternative drive trains into account. This will cover driving operation, as well as other factors
− e.g. operation of ancillary power units when stationary, and loading and unloading.
- Improvement to efficiency of loading and unloading, and safety of goods − both packaged goods, bulk freight and liquids.
With this in mind, the organisers have given the following bullet headings, which should be incorporated into the designs:
- The entire transport and logistics chain and its interfaces with other carriers
- Efficient use of energy
- Alternative ideas for motive power
- Reduction in CO2 emissions
- Aerodynamics
- Questions of logistics, including loading and unloading
- Modular construction, particularly for superstructures
- Social acceptability and protection of roads
- Vehicle safety and crash compatibility
- The vehicle interior as driver's workplace and living accommodation
- Driver comfort
- Analysis of a coherent aesthetic of design, covering both interior and exterior, including the reciprocal relation between vehicle and superstructure.
The organisers define commercial vehicles as vehicles and their superstructures from light transporters to heavy goods vehicles and their trailers.
The organisers consider the visionary aspect of the designs to be central. Nevertheless, technical viability of the designs is essential.
Competition Entries
The entry may be a design especially produced for this competition, or a new and existing design derived from a semester assignment.
Degree-examination theses may be entered, providing they have not been written as part of a cooperation project with a company in the commercial vehicle industry. Entrants to the competition submitting examination theses should also note that they must fulfil particular guidelines if these works are to be awarded a prize. For details, see under Prizes.
When submitting all entries to the competition, care must be taken to ensure that no manufacturer's trademarks can be seen on the design presentations.
Format for Entries
Entries to the competition should preferably be models (minimum scale 1:10, but maximum length of 1.8 m). But entries consisting of fully comprehensible graphic designs or CAD models (animations) are also permissible.
A maximum of two different entries is allowed per person.
Graphic designs must be submitted in DIN A 2 format (420mm x 594mm, 16,535 x 23.385 inches), mounted on cardboard, or in a roll. Each entry may be shown on a maximum of three charts.
Digital productions may only be submitted if they are animations or films (no pictorial documents). Digital entries must be saved in MPEG-2 format and submitted on CD-ROM or DVD. Only one file is allowed per entry.
A printed-out text in English, maximum 1,800 characters, must be enclosed with every entry, explaining the design.
The entrant's name must not be written either on the front of the entry or on the text page; name and address may be marked on the rear portions. The same applies to digital entries and their packaging.
The entry form must be enclosed separately with the entry.
Entrants
The competition is open to all countries and is intended for students of design, whatever their speciality, and for students of the arts, i.e. industrial and product design, visual communication, interior design, architecture, arts and media courses.
Entry is open to students registered at an institute of higher education in one the subject areas listed above.
Degree-examination theses may be entered in the competition, providing they were written at an institute of higher education in 2008.
Entry is open to individuals or groups. The organisers wish groups to note that only one person in the group can be the contact person. Should the prize involve the award of a practical training placement, the group must decide on its own who will undertake the placement.
Jury
The jury will be under the aegis of Matthias Wissmann, President of the VDA. Designers and members of the management board from the companies involved will also be on the jury.
Criteria of Evaluation
All work submitted will be judged primarily on the following criteria. The jury will be free to weight the individual criteria as it deems fit.
- Quality of concept and vision
- Degree of innovation
- Quality of design and presentation
- Technical execution of design
Prizes
The prizes to be awarded in this competition will be a total of 7 practical placements in companies of the automotive industry participating. The period of these placements and the salary paid will be subject to the usual conditions of the companies involved.
The first three prizes will also include the award of the following sums:
First Prize: EUR 2,000
Second Prize: EUR 1,000
Third Prize: EUR 500 Euro
The jury additionally reserves the right to select further works for an honorary award as finalists, to be shown in an exhibition at IAA Commercial Vehicles 2008.
Should a degree-examination thesis be awarded a prize, the organisers and participating companies hereby state, under the legal regulations governing wage and salary negotiations, that the prize-winners must be registered at an institute of higher education when commencing their practical placement and be in possession of a valid matriculation certificate. This applies also to entrants from abroad. If the prize-winner cannot provide this, he or she will not be entitled to the practical placement.
Presentation of Prizes and Exhibition
The prize-giving ceremony will take place during IAA Commercial Vehicles 2008 in Hanover (25 September to 1 October 2008) as part of an event on September 26, 2008. During IAA Commercial Vehicles 2008 selected entries will be on view in an exhibition at the fair.
Deadlines
Close of registration and close of submissions: 1 July 2008 (date as postmark)
Jury meets: July 2008
Prize-giving ceremony: 26 September 2008 at IAA Commercial Vehicles 2008, Hanover
Exhibition: 25 September to 2 October at IAA Commercial Vehicles, Hanover
Collection of entries: until 31 October 2008
Legal Rights
The entrant will continue at all times to hold the copyright on all work submitted for the competition. The entrant shall transfer rights of use and publication to the organisers, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and the German Design Council, for the period of the competition and for all publications immediately associated with the competition. Each entrant shall be responsible himself for all questions involving rights to utility models, registered designs, copyrights or patents. The organisers of the competition and the jurors shall be released from any claims by third parties. By signing the registration forms, the entrant recognises these conditions.
Costs
Entry to the competition is free of charge.
The regulations governing costs of delivery, return and insurance are explained in the respective sections.
Insurance of Entries
Each entrant shall be responsible for insuring all entries during carriage for delivery and for paying the costs of such insurance. The organiser has insured all designs and models for the period of jury preparation and meeting. The same applies to the prize-winning designs and models shown in the exhibition. Under the rules governing return (see below), each entrant will also be responsible for insurance during return.
Return of Entries
No entries once submitted will be returned. On request, however, entries may be collected from the German Design Council up to 31 October, providing an agreed time has been arranged. Entrants may also employ a courier service to collect them. The organisers reserve the right to destroy entries which have not been collected by 31 October 2008.
For more information: http://www.vda-design-award.de/