The lounge is the theme of a unique new design competition that seeks to use social media as a tool to develop the designs for future cars. Opel/Vauxhall asks students “What do you think is our lounge style?” as part of an interactive competition being launched with Car Design News.

The competition is for students studying at design schools in Europe, and includes both interior and, as a second stage, exterior design. It will culminate in a display of the finalists’ work and announcement of the two winners at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011.

In the first interiors stage, student designers in Europe are challenged to develop a car interior that is “a lounge in motion”. They will be asked to accentuate both the emotional and rational aspect of the Opel/Vauxhall brand and its design language, which the company describes as, “sculptural artistry meets German precision”.

Liz Wetzel, Director of Interior Design, Opel/Vauxhall, conceived the project and will be one of the judges. “What I’m excited about is for students to understand our brand,” she says, “because it is moving – it’s becoming much more dynamic, much more passionate and our clear vision can be seen in our recent products on both the interior and the exterior execution. What we’re looking for is not just for students to design, but to come up with an experience.”

Individual entries can then be revised, or even submitted as a fresh new design, in an interactive process. Judges from Opel/Vauxhall and other senior design professionals will give feedback as the competition continues and the designs evolve. The interiors stage of the competition concludes on December 10, when the designs are frozen.

The three best entries as selected by the judges will then be used as the brief for the second, exteriors, part of the competition, to be launched at the start of 2011. The prize for the winning student of the interiors stage will be a paid internship at the Opel/Vauxhall Design Center in Rüsselsheim, Germany.