The Automotive Brand Contest is the only international design competition for automobile marques. With the competition, the German Design Council honours outstanding product and communication design and draws attention to the fundamental importance of brand and brand design in the automotive industry. In this context, the focus is on the integral and consistent use of the brand across all media and products.
“The production of Canatu’s first automotive mass product started in 2015 and in 2017 we selected automotive industry as the key focus area of our strategy. We have been working hard since to enable design freedom and intuitive user experience with the Canatu’s 3D touch applications. Therefore, we highly value the prize and we are at the same time proud and humble of this global recognition while being a rather young brand,” says Juha Kokkonen, Canatu CEO, delighted.
“Canatu started its brand renewal project at the same time with the shift of strategy focus. During the past 1,5 years, we have systematically developed the brand, starting from the brand cornerstones and key messages to every visual detail,” explains Katja Mälkki, Vice President, Marketing and Communications. “The win of the Automotive Brand Contest is a great honour of this comprehensive work done for the brand and the design of the unique 3D cockpit applications,” she continues pleased.
The evolution of the automotive industry is the key driver for the demand of Canatu’s technology. Canatu-Cockpit provides design freedom for an intuitive user experience with 3D-shaped touch surfaces in automotive interiors and unlimited possibilities for smart touch surfaces in the future’s cockpits. It integrates functions and controls discreetely to the interiors for a sleek and unobtrusive in-car experience. It combines transparent 3D touch sensors to displays, plastic, glass, leather or textile. An intuitive and tactile 3D user interface enable decreased driver distraction and increased safety while driving. The replacement of mechanical structures with thin film solutions allow lighter structures for EVs. More of Canatu’s recent applications at: https://canatu.com/automotive-interiors/
Expert judges in all fields
The awards of the Automotive Brand Contest are given for outstanding product and communications design, which the professional jury bestows in 12 different categories and four special categories. The categories cover the entire design spectrum and range from vehicle design and concepts via brand design and multimedia networking, through to campaigns and events.
A competition with such diverse design aspects requires a jury of independent experts with industry experience, a jury that tackles the challenge with enthusiasm. In 2018 it is made up of representatives from the media, design, brand communication and the universities in Germany. The members are:
- Jürgen Lewandowski, Freelance Author and Journalist, Munich • Prof. Andrea Lipp-Allrutz, Vice-dean, Transportation Interior Design, Hochschule Reutlingen, Reutlingen • Dr. Saskia Diehl, Holder GMK Markenberatung, Cologne • Richard Gaul, Communication consultant and shareholder, Zehle-Gaul-Communications, Berlin • Andrej Kupetz, General Manager, German Design Council, Frankfurt/Main
In 2018, the winners will be presented with their awards on the occasion of the Paris Motor Show. https://www.automotive-brand-contest.de/en.html
The initiator of the contest
The German Design Council is one of the world’s leading competence centres for communication and brand management in the field of design. Its members currently include over 300 companies. The German Design Council was founded in 1953 on the initiative of the German Bundestag to strengthen design competence in the German industry. Its varied activities have just one aim, namely to communicate the sustainable increase in brand value through the strategic use of design.
About Canatu
Canatu’s solutions bring the design freedom and user experience to the next level for 3D shaped touch devices. Canatu develops and manufactures innovative 3D formable and stretchable films and touch sensors. These transparent and conductive films can be integrated into plastic, glass, textile or leather enabling 3D touch displays, smart switches and other intuitive user interfaces.
Canatu supplies these unique CNB™ films and touch sensors to touch module vendors and OEM’s in several industries, for example automotive and consumer electronics. Canatu is headquartered in Finland, with sales locations in Europe, US, China and Taiwan, Japan and Korea.
Canatu – Shaping surfaces into experiences. www.canatu.com
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