Göteborg, Sweden

Maximilian Missoni and Juan Pablo Bernal believe that a change needs to happen, and Polestar AB wants to facilitate that change, offering inspiration and support to help create a more sustainable electric future by launching a global competition to find new ways of thinking that would encourage positive change in society, including responses to the ongoing climate crisis.

So, Missoni and Bernal began an annual event, bringing together student and professional designers from all different backgrounds and locations to see what a more sustainable electric future could look like.

This year, the theme is “Progress,” and the competition deadline for submissions is June 30, 2021.

Curated by Polestar Senior Design Manager Juan Pablo Bernal, the Polestar Design Community is an Instagram account that does more than showcase amazing designs from Polestar designers, fans and followers (though it does plenty of that). It also serves as an online gathering point where designers can engage with each other, with Polestar itself, and have their unique Polestar-inspired sketches seen across the entire design.

Last year, the inaugural Polestar Design Contest saw a huge number of submissions, each one featuring a high level of creativity and technical ability.

Which made choosing winners all the more difficult. The two which took the title went above and beyond the design brief, showcasing products that both expressed Polestar’s design future and offered solutions to some of today’s pressing issues.

Last year, the inaugural first competition was won by Konrad Cholewka for his autonomous pod “Polestar MMXL” with an honorable mention going to Arthur Martins and finalists Franklin Guo, Ankit Ukil, Lennart Frank, Yash Vardhan Bhatter, Matthias Walz, Rohit Dhiman, Sang Won Lee, Vivek Marathe, and Madhav Dua.

The contest requires entrants to design a new type of Polestar that stretches the boundaries of imagination – looking ahead 20 years without stretching into the realm of fantasy.

It could be a car, or something else, as the designers behind the contest are keen not to limit future directions for Polestar.

The contest has both student and professional designer categories, with initial designs submitted in the form of sketches or digital images.

Shortlisted contestants will then develop their designs as digital models, with remote coaching and guidance from Polestar’s designers and its head of design, Maximilian Missoni.

The winning student and professional designers will get their designs modeled in the same way as all Polestar designs – in the Göteborg-based design centre, as highly detailed hard models.

With a different theme to the design brief each year, Polestar Design Contest winners and their models will be presented at a Polestar design exhibition – an annual event curated by Polestar Design that will tour the world in an art gallery-style environment.

The appearance of the vehicle in connection with the track was also a significant aspect in the design development.

The design language of the vehicle, especially the front, was harmoniously integrated into the track to create a seamless connection.

The material also played an important role in this.

Architectural design principles, which gives a rigid concrete structure a dynamic appearance, inspired Christian Keller and his team decisively in the design process of the TSB.

Inside, TSB design features include ergonomic standing areas; between six and twelve seats per section; powerful and silent air conditioning system; floor covered with non-slip natural rubber; and monitors, passenger counting devices, cameras, loudspeakers, and emergency intercoms.

The architecture for the Messner Mountain Museum by Zaha Hadid is said to have had a certain influence on the project.

Slightly convex surfaces, together with the course of parting lines, create a special dynamic.

The basic idea of combining technical components with a timeless design can be found in almost all TSB assemblies.

“We have experienced fantastic creative interpretation of the Polestar design philosophy from a wealth of aspiring designers all over the world,” said Juan Pablo Bernal, senior interior design manager at Polestar, who also curates the @polestardesigncommunity Instagram account.

“It was clear that Polestar, as a new brand with a strong design focus, presents a broad, blank canvas for design exploration. With this contest, we officially invite designers to flex their creative muscles with a view to gaining real experience and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in this field.”

Maximilian Missoni said: “As a designer, I recognize the extremely valuable experience that can be gained by being able to work so closely with a new brand like Polestar – especially since we view this opportunity as a way we can give back to the design community and help up-and-coming designers excel.

“With this contest, we aim to challenge talented designers to push boundaries and think in new directions – much like we do. I look forward to seeing some amazing designs that promote design expression in a new modern landscape.”

The contest is inspired by the wealth of creativity shared by designers with Polestar’s @ polestardesigncommunity Instagram page – another initiative of the Polestar Design department.

Project: Polestar Design Contest 2021
Manufacturer: Polestar AB