By Marcela Berrios, Hannah Storm Journalism Intern
Hundreds competed. Thousands voted. One won. No, it’s not “American Idol.” It was the Mazda Design Challenge, the annual competition that encouraged college students throughout the country to imagine the Mazda3 in 2018, describe it in a 150-word statement and provide an illustration last fall.
Senior Mallory McMorrow, an industrial design student from Whitehouse, N.J., submitted her proposal without thinking it really had a chance of taking the top prize. But it did.
McMorrow’s entry beat out more than 400 other aspiring car designers when the Mazda Design Team of North America put it among the top 10 submissions. From there, the general public narrowed the competition down to five by voting through the Challenge’s official Facebook group. She and the other four finalists then teamed up with members of the Mazda Design Team to produce a final sketch of the 2018 Mazda3 for the final round of voting. Mazda designer Jacques Flynn was paired up with McMorrow.
“Jacques took everything I said and sketched and put my thoughts and feelings on paper,” she said. “I was thrilled when I opened up the images of the final renderings. I’m proud to say the end design was still definitely my car.”
And her car won by a landslide. McMorrow’s victory was announced Nov. 6 and 10 days later, Mazda flew her to California to attend the L.A. Auto Show. As part of her prize, she would work with Franz von Holzhausen, director of design for Mazda’s North American Operations, on a full-scale model of her vision. They carved her design from a block of clay live at the Auto Show, held from Nov. 16-25.
“This was the first time a car company ever designed a car live at an auto show,” McMorrow said.
But perhaps the best part of winning the challenge is the internship Mazda has offered McMorrow after graduation.
“These internships are not traditionally awarded to someone from a liberal arts background,” she said. “The odds of becoming a professional car designer are similar to those of becoming a professional football player, so this is a big deal.”
