Vincent Piaskowski, a 12th-grade student from Michigan, won first place in Stellantis’ 2021 Drive for Design Contest
Photo: Stellantis
The task for this year’s Drive for Design Contest from Stellantis was to imagine what an electrified Jeep should look like in the future. Student designers across the country had 10 weeks to draft their concepts and submit them to members of the automaker’s North America design team who judged their artistic and engineering efforts. The goal of the contest is not only to inspire budding artists and give them an avenue to present their work but also to encourage them to set their career sights on automotive design.
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This year’s contest marks the ninth time the competition has been presented. It’s drawn materials from previous applicants, an exciting development for the automaker’s design team, who are impressed with the growth the students have shown.
“Students are digging deep and focusing their attention not only on the details but the thought process of automotive design. It’s encouraging and exciting to see young artists take this competition seriously,” added Mark Trostle, head of Ram Truck and Mopar Exterior Design for Stellantis.
This year’s first-place winner was Vincent Piaskowski, a 12th-grade student from Michigan. Piaskowski’s design work landed him in the top three, two times before (second place in 2020 and third place in 2019). Also from Michigan is the second place winner — 10th grader Rocco Morales. Alex Wang, a 12th grader student in California, took home third place.
Rocco Morales, a 10th-grade student from Michigan, won second place in Stellantis’ 2021 Drive for Design Contest
Photo: Stellantis 
Alex Wang, a 12th-grade student from California, took home third place in Stellantis’ 2021 Drive for Design Contest
Photo: Stellantis
As part of his first-place win, Piaskowski earns one-on-one mentoring with designers from the Stellantis Design Studies, a scholarship to the College for Creative Studies virtual summer design program, publication of his winning design on the automaker’s social media platforms, and Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16.
Morales and Wang also receive a scholarship and Virtual Day of Design as well as an Apple iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.
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Trostle introduced the Design for Design contest in 2013, inspired by his own success in a high school design contest.
DeAnn Owens is a Dayton transplant by way of the Windy City, yet considers herself to be a California girl at heart even though she’s only visited there once. To get through the dreaded allergy season unique to the Miami Valley, she reads, writes, complains about the weather, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and their newest addition, a Boston terrier puppy that is now in charge of all their lives. In the future, she hopes to write a novel and travel through time. See more articles by DeAnn.
