Pininfarina has announced the opening of its 2024–2025 Global Design Contest, to which final-year students with a focus on mobility design, interface design, and architecture from a limited number of schools worldwide are invited to apply.
With the focus being on the significant role that materials play in producing ground-breaking design solutions, this year’s topic, “Materiality, the Umami of Mobility,” asks participants to imagine living and traveling in the future.
The competition invites students to design an all-encompassing mobility experience, from cars to environments, where materials are essential to solving today’s mobility issues, like comfort with technology, accessibility, and environmental sustainability. Students are encouraged to go beyond these exercises, concentrating on the wants and needs of people as well as evoking a general feeling of enchantment. Similar to the flavor of a food that has “umami,” which is regarded as the fifth flavor, the design should have a pleasant and enduring effect.
The competition is divided into three easy-to-complete stages. The first round is open to all enrolled students at the aforementioned schools; twenty will be selected for further consideration. Ten competitors will go to the final stage following a one-on-one coaching session with Pininfarina and some time to polish their suggestions. In this phase, participants will receive one more one-on-one coaching session and have three months to work on their final presentation, which will contain the winner selection.
A panel of Pininfarina designers, prominent business people, and media partners will judge the entries. The winners will be revealed at an award ceremony honoring Pininfarina’s 95th anniversary in May 2025. The winners of each category will be given a fixed-term job or internship at one of Pininfarina’s locations. Furthermore, in honor of the former Chairman, a unique “Paolo Pininfarina” reward will be given out, chosen by longstanding partners.