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Design student wins automotive prize

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 2, 2008

Third-year Coventry University student wins competition to design the logo for innovITS - Advance, which will open in summer 2009 on the MIRA site near Hinckley.

A new Eur 30 million research and development centre testing the latest vehicle technology such as collision avoidance and congestion prevention systems will be emblazoned with a logo designed by a Coventry University student.

Sam Johnson, who is in the third year of a transport and product design degree at the university, saw off fierce competition from his coursemates to come up with a winning logo for innovITS - Advance, which will open in summer 2009 on the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) site near Hinckley.

innovITS - Advance is a collaboration between innovITS, a leading player in intelligent transport systems, the UK's Transport Research Laboratory and MIRA.

The centre will be developed over five phases, the first being the construction of a circuit recreating a cityscape including a network of roads, traffic islands and controlled intersections.

It is aimed at vehicle manufacturers as well telecommunications companies wanting to test systems to improve road safety and the environment.

Johnson's logo will debut on 20th May 2008 in front of representatives from Nissan, BMW, Hyundai and other world leading manufacturers at the Japanese Society of Automotive Engineers annual conference in Yokohama.

It will then get pride of place at innovITS - Advance city circuit's control centre and demonstration suite.

"I am absolutely thrilled to win the competition", said 22-year-old Johnson, who is currently on a work placement at the University Design Hub which counts towards his final degree.

"I just tried to keep my design as simple as possible while focusing on the circuit, the movement of vehicles, fluidity and elegance".

"I joined Coventry University because it has a reputation for being the best in the country for automotive design".

"Now my design is being marketed as a global brand".

Johnson has also won a GBP 200 cash prise and a vehicle testing session at the MIRA site.

Nick Clare, Technical Manager at the Oxford-HQ based innovITS - Advance, was one of seven judges.

"The overall standard of the designs was extremely high but, as a business to business logo, we felt that Sam's tied in perfectly with the industries we are trying to attract - telecommunications, electronics and automotive", he said.

"It is clear, subtle and something we can create a story around".

Clare added that he hoped the competition would be the start of a "long and fruitful affiliation" with the university.

"It's always an advantage to bring academia into what we're trying to do".

"Coventry University is on our doorstep, and its business support facilities mean they can help companies that come to innovITS in a way that we can't".

The opening of innovITS - Advance would also attract high-tech companies and highly skilled jobs to the region, Clare explained.

"It will look at things like collision mitigation systems, which can't be tested on the open road, systems which tell hybrid engines when to switch between battery and conventional power, and telematics which show a driver when there is congestion coming up".

Coventry University Enterprises' Project Manager Catherine Louch said the relationship with innovITS - Advance reflected the university's strategic mission.

"We are dedicated to university-business interaction and applied research and this project is another example of how industry recognises that capability".