Top young British designer wins the Interior Motives Student Designer of the Year 2003

Frankfurt, Germany, September 18 -- The winners of the Interior Motives: Student Design Awards 2003 were announced during this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, at one of the automotive industry's best parties - the Interior Motives: Student Design Awards.

The Interior Motives Student Designer of the Year 2003 was Peter Blades-Nixon, a student from the Royal College of Art, London, UK. Blades-Nixon received a trophy and a cheque for US$10,000 from Georg Kirchbaumer, chief technology officer of premier sponsor, Intier Automotive.

"Just to have the opportunity to enter the competition is fantastic," said the winner. "What Interior Motives magazine and the Interior Motives: Student Design Awards competition is doing to raise the profile of interior design is just fantastic. And incredibly timely.

"The atmosphere here has been amazing tonight and all the students have been so supportive of one another. It was great to see so many of my peers in such a great environment. It is lovely to be recognized for my design. I am delighted!"

The event, which was held at the King Kamehameha Club, in Frankfurt was attended by more than 200 individuals from the automotive industry. They included leading automotive designers, design managers and top executives from automakers including BMW, Citroen, DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari, General Motors, Hyundai, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Saab, Smart. Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo Cars. Independent designers and design studio personnel, as well as Tier 1 and 2 suppliers were also in attendance.

Winners in each of the categories came from Strate College Designers, Paris; Institute of Design, Umea University, Umea, Sweden; School of Design, University of Northumbria, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK; and Coventry School of Art & Design, Coventry, UK.

The winners in each of the eight award categories are listed below:

The Best Innovation Award was awarded to Jonas Sandström, a student of the Institute of Design at Umea University, Umea, Sweden. Sandström received a trophy and a cheque for US$2,000 from Dr Alfred Stern, market development manager of gold sponsor DuPont.

The Best Use of Technology Award was awarded to Paul Howse from the School of Design, University of Northumbria, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Howse received a trophy and a cheque for US$2,000 from Mike Berta, director of Interior Technology at gold sponsor JSP International.

The Best Cultural Interpretation Award was given to Indiana Pouilly of Strate College Designers, Paris, France. Pouilly received a trophy and a cheque for US$2,000. The award was presented by jury member Roberto Piatti, managing director of Stile Bertone.

The Best Production Interior Award went to Peter Blades-Nixon, Royal College of Art, London, UK. Blades-Nixon received a trophy and a cheque for US$2,000 from Abel Sampson, publisher of Interior Motives magazine.

The Best Conceptual Interior Award was awarded to Phil Woolhead, of Coventry School of Art & Design, Coventry, UK. Woolhead received a trophy and a special prize of Alias Studio Tools design software and a Hewlett Packard XW4000 Workstation computer from Hewlett Packard. The prizes were given by Joerg Kissner, sales manager of Hewlett Packard and Thomas Heermann, product manager, Design Products, Alias.

The Best Lifestyle Interior Award went to Eric Daru, of Strate College Designers, Paris, France. Daru received a trophy and a US$2,000 prize from Derick Fronda, director - Automotive Division, at gold sponsor Alcantara S.p.A.

For the Honorable Mention Award, the judging panel made the unusual decision to share the award amongst two notable students: Maurits Lopes Cardozo and Christophe Lalo, both from Strate College Designers, Paris, France. Each student received a trophy and a cheque for US$500 from jury member Rus Shafer, director, Industrial Design, Intier Automotive.

"Let's salute Interior Motives for a first-class competition and memorable awards night," said Intier's Kirchbaumer. "Intier strives for innovation and craftsmanship in everything we do, and it's a pleasure to support students and a competition with similar objectives. It's clear that the future evolution of automotive interior design will be secure in the hands of these young creators."

"The Interior Motives: Student Design Awards is an opportunity for us to be connected to the world of professional people," agreed Christophe Susbielles and Christophe Lalo, student designers from Strate College Designers, France. "The fact that we had the time to talk about our projects - which were displayed around the venue - was definitely interesting because it enabled us to create a dialogue with the other guests. It's simple and concrete. We definitely appreciate the party and such a well-organized event."

"Every new idea needs a sponsor and Alcantara S.p.A. participated confidently with Interior Motives's initiative," said Fronda. "This is because we believe the passionate and enthusiastic ideas of young designers need to be better supported. For a Company like Alcantara S.p.A. helping to make dreams come true is immensely gratifying."

Entries for The Interior Motives: Student Design Awards were received from design schools including: College for Creative Studies (CCS), Detroit, USA; Academy of Art College, San Francisco, USA; Fachhochschule Pforzheim, Pforzheim, Germany; Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Seoul National University of Technology, Seoul, Korea; Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Escuela Superior de Diseño Elisava, Barcelona, Spain; Scuola Politecnica di Design, Turin, Italy; and Escola de Design - UEMG, Brazil. A full list of schools and shortlisted entries is available at http://www.interiormotivesawards.com/

After the successful launch of this year's awards the organizers have announced that the second Interior Motives: Student Design Awards will take place during the Paris Motor Show in 2004. The date and venue are still to be confirmed.

Interior Motives magazine will publish a dedicated Awards supplement, with details of the finalists and winners in December. For a free subscription to Interior Motives, please visit http://www.interiormotivesmagazine.com/

Advanstar Communications Inc. is a worldwide business information company serving specialized markets with high quality information resources and integrated marketing solutions. Advanstar has 100 business magazines and directories, 77 tradeshows and conferences, numerous Web sites, and a wide range of direct marketing, database and reference products and services. Advanstar serves targeted market sectors in such industries as art, automotive, beauty, collaboration/e-learning, CRM/call center, digital media, entertainment/marketing, fashion & apparel, healthcare, manufacturing and processing, pharmaceutical, powersports, science, telecommunications and travel/hospitality. The Company has over 1,200 employees and currently operates from multiple offices in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.advanstar.com/.

For further information please visit http://www.interiormotivesawards.com/ or contact Alexandra Campos on acampos@advanstar.com T: +44 (0)20 8987 0967.