College for Creative Studies - ABPA Project

August 7, 2002 - Transportation design juniors at Detroit's College for Creative Studies (CCS) were challenged by the Automotive Bright Products Association (ABPA) in the recent 'Retro-Flair' Design Project. This project, which is the fourth sponsored by the ABPA at CCS, asked students to design vehicles with creative uses of bright trim and chrome encompassed in retro-styling themes.

The first-place winner was Hyunsoo Kim of Detroit who received $1,500. The second-place winner was Sung Paick of Detroit who received $1,000. And earning third place was Gary Ruiz of Parma, Ohio, who received $500.

Hyunsoo Kim's winning concept is a re-interpretation of the Bugatti Type57SC Atlantic. "I tried to capture the heritage and proportion of the car in a modern interpretation," explains Hyunsoo. "Experimenting with different ways of manipulating surfaces enabled me to create a different graphic, especially in the area around rear wheel house is fresh and new, but still keeps key lines from the original Atlantic."

The Automotive Bright Products Association recruited noted designers from the auto industry to judge the CCS student work. This year's judges were Mike Ellis, chief designer, Outfitters, Ford Motor Company; Sung Paik, assistant chief designer, GMNA Product Development; John Opfer, product designer, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, and Gene Trocoletti, technical manager, Atotech Canada. The Automotive Bright Products Association is an international collection of automotive suppliers dedicated to increasing the use of chrome and bright products in the automotive industry.

"Incorporating bright materials into graphic drawings has always been a challenge for the student designers and an important element in their design training," said Bryon Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Transportation Design program at CCS." The ABPA project offers students an important opportunity to exercise their creativity with these types of materials."

Located in Detroit's Cultural Center, the College for Creative Studies offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in animation and digital media, communication design, crafts, fine arts, illustration, industrial design, interior design, and photography. CCS is credited with having one of the world's most recognized programs in transportation design.

College for Creative Studies website: www.ccscad.edu