Automobility LA™ Announces Panel Of Judges And Speakers For Its 2017 Design & Developer Program

At the core of AutoMobility LA's design program is the annual Design & Developer Challenge presented by Microsoft where participants compete to win three distinct honors – the Judges', Industry and People's Pick awards, respectively.  Tapped by show organizers, a committee of experts will review each entry before selecting five finalists to present their concepts live at AutoMobility LA; the winner of the 2017 Judges' Pick award will be announced on Nov. 29 immediately following the finalists' presentations. 

Teams competing in the challenge will submit a short film and supporting materials for judges to review; the judging committee will evaluate each concept according to criteria including overall creativity, form and function of "smarter" vehicles and buildings, impact on people's lives, use of Los Angeles' data sets and the incorporation of this year's "Smarter L.A. 2060" theme.

"In a city so fundamentally shaped by the car, we are eager to see how the challengers will use our data to envision mobility and infrastructure solutions for 2060," expressed Seleta Reynolds, General Manager of Los Angeles' Department of Transportation and judge for this year's Design & Developer Challenge. "We hope the teams will inspire us to dream how technology can serve the city as fully driverless cars arrive and transportation goes vertical."

Design & Developer Challenge Judging Committee:

• Clay Dean, Under Armour, Chief Innovation Officer
• Chris Down, Hot Wheels at Mattel, Inc., Senior Vice President & Global Brand General Manager
• Riccardo Giraldi, Microsoft NEXT, Principal Creative Director
• Stewart Reed, Art Center College of Design, Head of Transportation Design
• Seleta Reynolds, City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation, General Manager
• Jamie Sciturro, Autodesk, Solution Executive
• Danny Stillion, IDEO, Partner & Executive Design Director

Prior to the finalists' presentations on Wednesday, Nov. 29, AutoMobility LA's Design & Developer Program will kick off with a provocative conversation about what role automotive design, UX design, urbanism, arts and culture will play in the future of mobility.

"Design's Power to Shape the Future" talk will feature:

Panelists:

• Mike Milley, Designworks, A BMW Group Company, Foresight + Innovation Director
• Riccardo Giraldi, Microsoft NEXT, Principal Creative Director
• Seleta Reynolds, City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation, General Manager

Moderator:

• Frances Anderton, KCRW's DnA: 'Design and Architecture' podcast, Host and Producer

To reflect the ever-broadening transportation sector, AutoMobility LA organizers hand-picked a diverse mix of speakers and judges to participate in the Design & Developer Program.  In addition, the show commissioned renowned graphic designer Osvaldo Casanova to capture the essence of "Smarter L.A. 2060" – the theme for the 2017 Design & Developer Challenge.  Along with the "L.A. 2060" logo, the official poster of the Design & Developer Challenge depicts an athlete in the midst of a high jump, overcoming hurdles and progressing above and beyond urban planning and transportation struggles that the City of Los Angeles has faced for decades.  Along with the visual assets created by teams competing in the challenge, Casanova's commemorative pin and illustration designs help bring Los Angeles' fictitious future bid to host a global sporting event in the year 2060 to life.

Starting Dec. 1, industry professionals and the general public will also have the opportunity to review all of this year's entries and vote for their favorite concept on automobilityla.com and laautoshow.com, respectively; the winner of the Industry Pick and People's Pick awards will both be announced the week of Dec. 11.

Industry and media professionals, government officials and the academic design community registered for AutoMobility LA are all invited to witness and celebrate this year's Design & Developer Programs taking place on Wednesday, November 29.  The program begins at 3:50 pm, following a full day of vehicle debuts.  The panel, finalist presentations, networking reception and afterparty will all take place inside the Technology Pavilion at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

For additional information on the Design & Developer Program, please visit: http://automobilityla.com/design-developer-program/

For more information on AutoMobility LA and the LA Auto Show, please visit: http://www.automobilityla.com/ and http://laautoshow.com/.

About the Los Angeles Auto Show and AutoMobility LA

Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto Show (LA Auto Show®) is the first major North American auto show of the season each year.  In 2016, the show's Press & Trade Days merged with the Connected Car Expo (CCE) to become AutoMobility LA^TM, the industry's first trade show converging the technology and automotive industries to launch new products and technologies and to discuss the most pressing issues surrounding the future of transportation and mobility.  AutoMobility LA 2017 will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center Nov. 27-30, with manufacturer vehicle debuts intermixed.  LA Auto Show 2017 will be open to the public Dec. 1-10.  AutoMobility LA is where the new auto industry gets business done, unveils groundbreaking new products and makes strategic announcements in front of media and industry professionals from around the globe.  LA Auto Show is endorsed by the Greater L.A. New Car Dealer Association and is operated by ANSA Productions.  To receive the latest show news and information, follow LA Auto Show on Twitter at twitter.com/LAAutoShow, via Facebook at facebook.com/LAAutoShow or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/laautoshow/ and sign up for alerts at http://www.laautoshow.com/. For more information about AutoMobility LA, please visit http://www.automobilityla.com/.

Media Contacts:
Brian Alexander/Amanda Niklowitz
JMPR Public Relations, Inc.
(818) 992-4353
balexander@jmprpublicrelations.com
aniklowitz@jmprpublicrelations.com

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