General Motors and the College for Creative Studies on the lookout for next generation car designers

Car designers are inspired by everything around them. They often draw their inspiration from fashion, architecture, even furniture design. A trendy purse or shoes, a new office building, or a chair can trigger new ideas for the design of a seat or head or tail lamps.

This spring, nine mentors from General Motors and eight students from the College for Creative Studies (CCS), as part of the annual "You Make a Difference" program are volunteering their time and talent to help 112 students from 11 Detroit Public High Schools embrace their own inspirations to create cars of the future. The program was established to identify diverse talent, give young people exposure to vehicle design, and increase overall awareness of careers in art and design.

"The College is committed to preparing students with an interest in art and design for a future in the dynamic and growing creative professions," said Richard L. Rogers, president of CCS. "Programs like this are at the core of our mission at CCS and will increase the diversity of the College, other design schools and ultimately the design professions themselves while also contributing to the cultural vitality of Detroit and southeast Michigan."

Armed with sketching pads, pencils and real-life experience, the volunteer mentors are assigned to one public school for 12 weeks and work closely with art teachers to facilitate group presentations and provide individual instruction in sketching techniques. The students are asked to design their dream vehicle that would appeal to 17-25 year old, including sports cars, crossovers, vans and some eco-vehicles.

"Recruitment of new and diverse design talent is one of our top priorities. We need designers, sculptors and graphic artists that represent countries and cultures from around the world to bring their creativity and unique life experiences to enrich the design process," said Ed Welburn, Vice President of GM Global Design. "I believe partnerships like this are so important to our youth and to our future business."

Most of these high-school students identified are already interested in some type of graphic art, product or fashion design. Upon completion of this program,

a few will be invited to participate in Advanced Sketching Clinics this summer to further enhance their artistic abilities. Three students will receive continuing education credit for courses at CCS.

"The 'You Make a Difference' collaboration between General Motors,

College for Creative Studies, and the Detroit Public Schools has been a valuable asset to the DPS visual art students and staff," said Benjamin Pruitt, Sr., director, Office of Fine Arts Education for the Detroit Public Schools. "It has opened minds and raised awareness to the numerous career opportunities in automotive design and other related fields. It is certainly our hope that this joint effort will continue in the future."

The student's original work will be on display on May 21, 2009 at the College for Creative Studies during a public open house and reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the Wendell W. Anderson Jr. Auditorium in the Walter B. Ford II Building. Students, parents, and teachers will be on hand to discuss their experiences along with GM and CCS mentors. This evening program will serve as recognition for their participation in the "You Make A Difference" program and provides an opportunity to offer congratulations as they move forward with the Advanced Sketching Workshops.