Aaron Hughes
Randy Rodriguez
Don Lee
27 March 2001 – Aaron Hughes, of Salt Lake City, Utah, took home the $2,000 first prize scholarship for his innovative uses of chrome and bright products in the 2001 Automotive Bright Products Association / Center for Creative Studies competition.
The program was the third annual CCS design competition sponsored by the ABPA. Students were challenged to design a pickup truck with the best and most practical use of chrome and other bright components. Representatives from the ABPA, DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors judged the entrants.
Hughes took home first prize for his design proposal for an exotic Jeep crossover vehicle incorporating bright trim linking the front grille back to the A pillars and mirrors through the use of one continuous piece of chrome.
“The vehicle is a hybrid design that incorporates a sport-utility vehicle with a pickup truck,” Hughes said. “The bright exterior design elements really set the vehicle apart visually and add functionality by imparting the vehicle with dent and scratch resistant chrome.”
Randy Rodriguez, of Vancouver, British Columbia, won the $1,500 second place scholarship for his two-dimensional drawings of a GM Hummer.
Rodriguez utilized bright products such as chrome, aluminum and stainless steel to exude a sense of quality, craftsmanship and durability.
Don Lee, a resident of Orlando, Fla., won the $1,000 third place scholarship for his drawings of a Mercedes Unimog. Lee’s design incorporates chrome all around the truck from the front edge to the sides and back.
“The students designed some spectacular vehicles,” said J. Patrick Billinge, ABPA executive committee spokesperson. “This project demonstrates the amount of creativity these future automotive designers possess and it demonstrates the potential for chrome and bright products to add an element of style to the vehicle.”
“Incorporating bright materials into graphic drawings has always been a challenge for the student designers, and an important part of their development,” said Milt Antonick, CCS Professor of transportation design. “This year, the students have gone above and beyond my expectations to produce truly suburb designs.”
Student designs, developed by 24 juniors in the school’s Transportation Design Program, featured vehicles from Bentley, Jeep, Cadillac, Range Rover, Rolls Royce and Chevrolet, among others.
The Center for Creative Studies - College of Art and Design is a private, fully accredited, four-year college that offers bachelor of fine arts degrees in animation and digital media, crafts, fine arts, graphic communication, industrial design, interior design and photography.
The college, located in Detroit’s University Cultural Center, provides a challenging learning environment in which students explore issues of art and design while preparing for a career in the professional world.
The ABPA was formed in 1997 to promote the use of chrome and bright trim products within the automotive industry while advancing technology, environmental responsibility and awareness, durability, quality and luxury.
