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Students, prospective students, family and prestigious alumni converged on ArtCenter’s Hillside campus Sunday for the new school’s Design Invitational, which allowed interested high school and community students to take an inside peek at the automotive design industry.
The Invitational brought together the creators of some of the world’s most iconic automobiles and a carefully-curated selection of more than 50 futuristic concepts, cutting-edge vehicles and classic cars.
“The focus is to raise awareness that a career in design is a reality, “ said Teri Bond, ArtCenter director of media relations. “This is a new event for us. We decided to have an event designed by the ArtCenter community, for the ArtCenter community. Our focus is to help young creative students in either high school or community college.”
As Bond explained, “If you’ve loved cars your whole life, or if you’ve played with Legos, you’ve been a builder, you like woodworking, then a career in car design or product design, or shoe design, or furniture design is accessible.”
Sofia De Los Santos, 17, a student at Pasadena High School, said her current interest in woodworking is an offshoot of her interest in auto design.
“I’m here to get a feel for campus life at ArtCenter,” she added, “and to see if this is the right place for me.”
The event also featured 40 vehicles on display from alumni, faculty and friends, plus 15 more vehicles on display from current students.
ArtCenter has turned out some of the most successful auto designers in the world, said Bond, who added that, “We like to say more than half of the cars you see on the roads today have been influenced by an ArtCenter College of Design alumnus. Either the interior, the exterior, the user experience, the technology, or the look and feel of most of the cars, have a connection back to the college.”
According to Jay Sanders, executive director, undergraduate transportation design, an additional goal of the event is to provide an opportunity for current degree program students to interact with alumni and be inspired by vehicles they have designed.
Twenty key alumni auto designers also participated in panel discussions about vehicles on the field they have designed.
Panel discussions included “Women in Transportation Design,” “Designing Vehicles for Movies,” and “Advice for Young Designers”
The event, which was not open to the public, replaced the Center’s annual Car Classic event which had also served as an alumni reunion event, but which has been on hold since the advent of the pandemic in 2020.
Alumni in attendance included movie vehicle designer Harald Belkerr; Curtis Brubaker, ArtCenter alumnus; Ian Cartabiano, vice president of Advanced Design, Toyota Calty; Tony Chen, creative manager at Genesis; Mark Clarke, retired Porsche designer and current instructor; Derek Jenkins, vice president of design, Lucid Motors; Ondrej Jirec, senior designer, Aston Martin; Joann Jung, interior lead designer, Lucid Motors; Nubia Krikorian,senior designer of CMF, Hyundai; Axel Kurkjian, senior designer at BYD; Grace Lee, creative designer, General Motors; Kerrin Liang, former interior designer for Genesis and current designer at Oakley; Nathan Malinik, lead designer, Hennessey Motors; Kimberly Marte, automotive CMF designer; Dave Muyres, chief Commercial Officer, Streetscope; Dave O’Connell, senior designer, Czinger Motors; Eric Schumaker, retired Honda designer and current instructor; Johnathan Szczupak, director of exterior design at Rivian; Franz von Holzhausen, senior design Executive at Tesla, and Honda Design Director Jose Wyzsogrod.
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