EyesOn Design are a series of events including an annual car show and a

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. It has become a national event focused on the emotion and character of

automotive design Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The functional design and development of a modern moto ...

History

The Eyes on Design Show was established in the late 1986 as both celebration of

and a fundraiser for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan Grosse Pointe Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,555 at the 2010 census. Bordering on Detroit with frontage on southern Lake St. Clair, it is the southernmost of the Grosse Pointe suburbs. Gros ...

, devoted to matters pertaining to the eye and vision. The first shows were called "Eyes On The Classics" and were held in the

Grosse Pointe Academy The Grosse Pointe Academy is an independent day school located at 171 Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Originally known as the Academy of the Sacred Heart, the campus buildings were designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 19 ...

parking lots. Initially focused on the domestic " Big Three" (

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

), the show was expanded to include automakers from around the world. The name was also changed to "EyesOn Design". For its third show, the venue moved to the grounds of the

Edsel and Eleanor Ford House The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House is a mansion located at 1100 Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan, Grosse Pointe Shores, northeast of Detroit, Michigan; it stands on the site known as "Gaukler Point", on the shore of Lake St. Clair ...

. To ease access and accommodate the increasing public attendance, the design chiefs at DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors suggested that the event be hosted by one of their companies each year. The 2002 show was held at the Chrysler Headquarters and Technology Center in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The theme for this 15th anniversary weekend-long show was "Performance Vehicles". In 2003, the

General Motors Technical Center The GM Technical Center is a General Motors facility in Warren, Michigan. The campus has been the center of the company's engineering effort since its inauguration in 1956. In 2000 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places; fourtee ...

in Warren, Michigan hosted the event. According to

, the 2003 event was the largest, most complete collection of concept vehicles ever assembled representing the very best efforts of GM, Ford, Chrysler, and other automakers. The three-day event was also the first time the GM Design Center was open to the general public. Attendees also had the opportunity to purchase rides in notable GM

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

s. A Founding Chairman of the annual EyesOn Design event, Chuck Jordan, was commemorated during the January 2011

North American International Auto Show The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), also known as the Detroit Auto Show as of 2022 and prior to NAIAS, is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at Huntington Place. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019. ...

in Detroit. The EyesOn Design show celebrated its 25th anniversary during summer 2012, on the grounds of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House with over 200 vehicles displayed by invitation only.

Design focus

The "Eyes on Design Show" has grown from an East Side show to an automobile exhibition of national and international significance. According to the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

, the Eyes on Design Show is the world's only car show to focus on the emotion and character of automotive design. Bringing together some 250 concept cars in one place is the secret of the show's success that has been driven by the enthusiastic assistance of automotive design executives. In addition to vehicles from various automakers, the event also features concept cars by invitation from some of the world's most renowned vintage automobile collectors and restorers. The vehicles shown at the annual event are by invitation. Judging in numerous classes is "based not on the quality of the restoration or authenticity"; rather it is on the basis of their "the design character, emotional appeal and artistic excellence of the vehicle."

Lifetime Design Achievement

The EyesOn Design celebrations include the prestigious "Lifetime Design Achievement" award. This recognition is given to an accomplished automotive designer selected by previous winners of this award. * 2022 -

Pete Brock Peter Brock (born November 1936) is an American automotive and trailer designer, author and photojournalist, who is best known for his work on the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe and Corvette Sting Ray. Early life and education Peter Elbert Brock ...

, deferred from 2020 and 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. state of Michigan were discovered on March 10, 2020, one day before the outbreak of the disease was officially declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. As of December 20, 2022 ...

* 2019 - Leonardo Fioravanti * 2018 -

Edward T. Welburn Edward T. Welburn (born December 14, 1950) is an automobile designer and former General Motors' Vice President of Global Design, a role in which he served from 2003 to 2016 and the same position that Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell once held. To ...

* 2017 - Syd Mead * 2016 - Stewart Reed * 2015 -

Patrick Le Quément Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

* 2014 -

Peter Schreyer Peter Schreyer (born 1953) is a German automobile designer widely known for his design contributions to the Audi TT. He has been the chief design officer at Kia Motors since 2006 and, on 28 December 2012, he was named one of three presidents of ...

* 2013 -

Wayne Cherry Wayne K. Cherry (born 1937) is an American car designer educated at Art Center College of Design and employed by General Motors from 1962 through 2004, retiring as Vice President of Design. Cherry worked for General Motors in the United States fro ...

* 2012 -

Chris Bangle Christopher Edward Bangle (born October 14, 1956) is an American automobile designer. Bangle is known best for his work as Chief of Design for BMW Group, where he was responsible for the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce motor cars. Early life Bangl ...

* 2011 -

Walter de'Silva Walter Maria de Silva (born 27 February 1951 in Lecco, Italy) is an Italian car designer and former head of Volkswagen Group Design, until 2015. Since beginning his car design career in 1972 as trainee car designer for Fiat's Style Centre. De S ...

* 2010 -

Shiro Nakamura is a former Japanese car designer and company executive. Nakamura served as Senior Vice President of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. From 2006, Nakamura had been Nissan's Chief Creative Officer. He was Chief Creative Officer of Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun ...

* 2009 - Willie G. Davidson * 2008 -

Robert A. Lutz Robert Anthony Lutz (born February 12, 1932) is a Swiss American automotive executive. He served as a top leader of all of the United States Big Three automobile manufacturers, having been in succession executive vice president (and board member ...

* 2007 -

Marcello Gandini Marcello Gandini (born 26 August 1938) is an Italian car designer, known for his work with the automotive design house Gruppo Bertone, including his designs of the Lamborghini Miura, Countach, and the Lamborghini Diablo. In a 2009 interview wit ...

* 2006 -

Jack Telnack Jack Telnack (born John J. Telnack in 1937) is the former global Vice President of Design of the Ford Motor Company from 1980 to 1997. He is best known for his work with cars like the 1979 Ford Mustang (third generation), the 1983 Ford Thunderbird ...

* 2005 - Chuck Jordan * 2004 - Charles Pelly * 2002 - Tom Gale * 2001 -

Giorgetto Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...

* 2000 - Design Visionaries of the 20th Century * 1999 -

Dick Teague Richard Arthur Teague (December 26, 1923 – May 5, 1991) was an American industrial designer in the North American automotive industry. He held automotive design positions at General Motors, Packard, and Chrysler before becoming Vice President o ...

* 1998 - George W. Walker * 1997 -

Bruno Sacco Bruno Sacco (born 12 November 1933) is an Italian automobile designer who served as the head of styling at German car giant Daimler-Benz between 1975 and 1999. Biography According to Sacco himself, he was first inspired towards car design as an ...

* 1996 - General Motors Styling Staff, 1937-1972 * 1995 - The Raymond Loewy Studebaker Design Team and the

Porsche family Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company is ...

* 1994 - Homer LeGassey and

Nuccio Bertone Giuseppe Bertone, also called "Nuccio", (4 July 1914, in Turin – 26 February 1997, in Turin) was an automobile designer and constructor. He took over Carrozzeria Bertone from his father, Giovanni after World War II, growing the small business t ...

* 1993 - LeBaron Carrossiers * 1992 -

William Lyons Sir William Lyons"Sir William Lyons – The Official Biography" by Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, Haynes Publishing (4 September 1901 – 8 February 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co ...

* 1991 -

Harley Earl Harley Jarvis Earl (November 22, 1893 – April 10, 1969) was an American automotive designer and business executive. He was the initial designated head of design at General Motors, later becoming vice president, the first top executive ever ...

and

Sergio Pininfarina Sergio Pininfarina, born Sergio Farina, (8 September 1926
. – 3 July 2012) was an Italian automobile ...

* 1990 -

Virgil Exner Virgil Max "Ex" Exner Sr. (September 24, 1909 – December 22, 1973) was an automobile designer for several American automobile companies, most notably Chrysler and Studebaker. Exner is widely known for the "Forward Look" he created for the ...

and Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie * 1989 - Strother MacMinn and Bill Mitchell * 1988 -

Gordon Buehrig Gordon Miller Buehrig (B-yur-rig) (June 18, 1904 – January 22, 1990) was an American automobile designer. Early life Gordon Miller Buehrig was born in Mason City, Illinois on June 18, 1904 to a banker. He attended Bradley University in ...

References

External links

* {{url, eyesondesign.org
Official EyesOn Design information
(archived website from 2010) Auto shows in the United States Design events Vehicle design