This year’s EyesOn Design show was a continuation of a theme: great cars, great designers and good times – all for a good cause.
The who’s-who of American automotive design flock to the former Ford family estate each summer on the shores of Lake St. Clair to celebrate beautiful design — and a good cause.
While the Detroit auto show withers on the vine, the EyesOn Design concours is thriving, a testament that in-person gatherings in the right venue with the right people remain crucial for the automotive community, and for designers in particular.
Participants from all over the world bring to the lawns at Ford house some of history’s most celebrated vehicles, some of which have even touched grass at Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este. Pristine Ferrari Dinos, Lamborghini Miuras and BMW M1s sit side-by-side with American muscle cars and groundbreaking concepts such as the 1938 Buick Y-Job and the 2003 Cadillac Sixteen. “People don’t always bring immaculate cars, but they bring cars that make you smile,” says Moray Callum, the former VP of Ford design who emerged from retirement to spend the day on the lawn with his former colleagues.
Founded in 1988 by the heads of design of the “Big Three” — General Motors, Chrysler and Ford — judges are comprised of industry design leaders and a few of us lucky enough to rub elbows with them. Unlike other car shows, the annual Father’s Day gathering focuses solely on design, and not on traditional concours criteria. As importantly, the event is a fundraiser for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO), an organisation committed to advancing research, education and treatment in the field of vision.
“I love this show because it’s really a designer’s car show,” says Stellantis chief design officer (and last year’s EyesOn Design lifetime achievement award honoree) Ralph Gilles. “The cause — research for vision restoration —is so incredible. And the curation of cars is amazing. They don’t have to be perfect, it’s not a concours type of show. It’s design first, so that actually smokes out some of the most interesting cars that would otherwise be in garages waiting for a restoration.”
As part of the weekend’s festivities, EyesOn Design honoured Gordon Murray, known of course for his designs for Formula 1 and the McLaren F1 road car of the 1990s, among many others. Toyota’s CALTY Design Research also opened its doors to its satellite studio in Ann Arbor, giving fellow and aspiring designers a glimpse into its facility, which works on production cars specifically for the North American market.
Perhaps one of the most poignant values of EyesOn Design is its inclusivity. Not only is it a beloved venue for the reunion of longtime peers and friends, it is a welcoming place for the very people the event is meant to benefit. Among the judges is a group of visually impaired people, dubbed “Visionaries,” who evaluate the cars by running their white-gloved hands over the contours of each vehicle.
One judge, as her fingertips traced the sensuous curves of a 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS, proclaimed, “I can tell this is a lot more expensive than a Chevy.” It’s a reminder to the design community that, in a time when focus has shifted so heavily to user experience, we must use more than our eyes to captivate users and make their lives better.
EyesOn Design is also a testament to the power of in-person gatherings. As we rely more heavily on digital tools, many design leaders are realising that not everything can be done by AR and Zoom. At the end of the day, design is about enhancing the human experience, and it doesn’t get more human than clinking glasses with old and new friends alike, and spreading a little joy to those often overlooked.
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