10th Styling & Design Conclave and 08th Automotive Design Challenge 2015
10th SIAM Styling & Design Conclave and 08th Automotive Design Challenge
Date: 05th February 2016
Venue: Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort, Greater Noida, Delhi NCR
Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) organized the 10th edition of the Styling & Design Conclave and also concluded the 08th Automotive Design Challenge (ADC) on 05th February 2016 at Hotel Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort, Greater Noida, Delhi NCR. The conclave happened along the sidelines of the “Auto Expo – The Motor Show”. The conclave marked the opening with the overall theme, “Design for India” looking at Design as a significant contributor to ‘AMP 2026’ and eventually to ‘Make in India’. Styling & Design Conclave served as a unique platform for exchange of ideas. There was a huge participation (~ 150) from delegates from varied backgrounds.
The tenth edition of the conclave witnessed the presence of influential automotive design professionals and people closely associated with automotive design area from domestic and global companies, sharing their experiences through trends reports, technology developments, case studies, design processes and on the role of design in building and sustaining a brand’s value.
Various stakeholders who make up the Design eco-system showcased their stories of the state-of-the-art of design in the country.
The event this year was dignified by eminent speakers, such as Mr Vinod K Dasari, President SIAM and Managing Director, Ashok Leyland; Mr Pratap Bose, Head of Design, Tata Motors; Mr Pradyumna Vyas, Director, NID; Mr Rajeev Sharma, Head of Proto, Hero Moto Corp; Mr Saurabh Singh, Head of Design, Maruti Suzuki; Mr Narendra Ghate, Chief Designer, Tata Elxsi; and Mr Adil Jal Darukhanwala, Editor in Chief, Zeegnition.
Mr Anil Saini, Chairman, SIAM Styling & Design Group and Director – Design, General Motors, opened the session elaborating upon the theme “Design for India” and gave a broader perspective on the evolution and growth of Automotive Design in the last 30 years.
Mr Rajiv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India, was the Chief Guest of the conclave. He emphasized on the conclave’s theme and mentioned “The Future is completely based on the innovation; we are becoming a trend setter with respect to the contributions made towards designing in vehicles that are being well accepted globally”.
Mr Vinod K Dasari, President, SIAM, emphasized on the fact that a lot of things are taken into consideration before manufacturing a vehicle that includes cost, safety and meeting emission norms. He said “we are one those countries, which is the fastest growing and adapting nation with respect to style & design of vehicles”.
Mr Pradyumna Vyas, Director, NID, highlighted that growth of auto design pedagogy in the design institutes. He also emphasized the need for auto makers to get India Design Mark for their automotive products.
Speaking on the Indian OEM story, Mr Pratap Bose, Head of Design, Tata Motors, said “Designs have played a crucial role in bringing a change in the automotive Industry, India has a huge bunch of young talented designers who will shape the future of designing vehicles by bringing in innovative designs to cater the needs of the customer”.
Mr Saurabh Singh, Head of Design, Maruti Suzuki, and Co-Chairman, SIAM Styling & Design group, emphasized on the role Indian Design Studios are playing for the global OEMs, by understanding the local markets. He elaborated this by giving an example of the new Compact SUV Vitara Brezza, which will be soon launched in India.
Mr Anil Saini, Chairman of the SIAM Styling & Design group, handed over a cheque of Rs 10 lakhs to Mr Gaurang Shah, HoD Transportation Design, MIT Institute of Design, Pune, towards setting-up a Clay Modelling Program. Mr Shah shared the course content of the programme, which is expected to start from June 2016.
Senior Design professionals encouraged students to look at Automotive Styling & Design as a vocation, keeping in view the objective of improving skill sets and cultivating the talent.
The conclave concluded with the awards function. Mr Mohd Basha, Advisor, TVS, was honored for his Contributions to Styling & Design in the country. He worked with TVS Motor Co. for many years and designed numerous vehicles. A few of the iconic brands he designed are XL Moped, Scooty, Victor, etc.
SIAM group also organized a competition for design students in the country called the Automotive Design Challenge (ADC). Theme for the competition was ‘Vehicle for Planet Keplar’. This is an annual competition organised by the SIAM group in two rounds, in the first round more than 100 design students, from several colleges, submitted their entries, followed by a Jury. The final round of the ADC was held on the day of the conclave, where the top 10 students displayed 3D models of their entries. After another round of evaluation by a Jury, comprising of senior design and automobile professionals, three students were finally awarded:
- First Prize Winner: Mr Gaurav Nandi, MIT Institute of Design, Pune
- First Runners-up: Mr Aaditya Hari, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
- Second Runners-up: Mr Gautam Muthuswamy, DSK-ISD Rubika, Pune
Tata Motors was the Platinum Sponsor for the event, whereas Stratasys was the Gold Sponsor, and Autodesk, Mankiewicz and DYPDC, Pune, were the Silver Sponsors.