The event of the year is fast approaching after its absence during last years NAIAS. This is a great forum for anyone interested in automotive and product design.  The theme this year is “Renaissance of Design” and has an eclectic mix of speakers presenting.  New for this year is the location.  Instead of the crumbling COBO it will be in the same building Harley Earl layed his pencil to paper (yes, designers used actual wood pencils back then) and the new location for future car designers attended College for Creative Studies.  Be sure to check it out and after you attend the show stick around for something special CDf will be hosting (details coming soon).

Thursday, January 14, 2010
8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

For 16 years AutoWeek has celebrated the world of design with its annual AutoWeek Design Forum. This year the event, held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), moves to the newly renovated College for Creative Studies A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education in Detroit.

Attracting automotive and design enthusiasts from varied backgrounds – students, car industry professionals, and designers allied to the field – the event recognizes and celebrates design as the ultimate differentiating factor that drives consumers’ interest and purchase decisions.

The Design Forum’s new venue offers attendees a first-hand look at an architectural gem in the brand new A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education. Through a $145 million redevelopment project, the College transformed General Motors’ historic Argonaut Building, located in Detroit’s New Center district, into the Taubman Center.

This year’s Design Forum, themed “Renaissance of Design,” will feature presentations from design professionals in the automotive and non-automotive worlds, followed by afternoon tours of the North American International Auto Show. In addition, the AutoWeek editors will recognize the most notable vehicles of the 2010 show during a presentation of the AutoWeek Editors’ Choice Awards.

More details after the break….

Ralph Gilles Anchors A Powerful Lineup of Speakers at the 2010 AutoWeek Design Forum!
The AutoWeek Design Forum is a chance for enthusiasts, students, and designers to learn about the latest design trends and to network within their field of interest. It also allows attendees to see the North American International Auto Show before the general public, and tour the show
with an AutoWeek editor.

Agenda
8:00 a.m.  Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m.  Welcome
9:05 a.m.  David Muyres, Agent of Transportation Change,

OnGoingTransportation, HuntGreen LLC,

NewNorth Center for Design in Business

9:35 a.m.  Design Panel
John Wendl, Content Director, Turn 10 Studios -
Developer of the Forza Motorsport Franchise
Bruce Campbell, Vice President, Design,
Nissan Design America, Inc.
Steen Strand, Co-founder, COO and VP of Design,
ICON Aircraft
10:20 a.m.  Break
10:40 a.m.  Design Panel Question-and-Answer Session
11:10 a.m.  Ralph Gilles, President and CEO, Dodge Car Brand;
SVP-Product Design, Chrysler Group LLC
11:50 a.m.  AutoWeek Editors’ Choice Awards and Conclusion
12:15 p.m.  Strolling Lunch
1:30 p.m.  Tours of the North American International Auto Show