CCS Students Create Official Poster for 2015 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix

DETROIT — For the third consecutive year, the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix teamed up with one of Detroit’s most innovative institutions to create the event’s official commemorative poster.

Located in Midtown Detroit, the College for Creative Studies (CCS) partnered once again with the Grand Prix this year to host a competition among its design students to produce winning poster design.

Future leaders in the design and illustration industry are educated at CCS and the Grand Prix has enjoyed working with the Detroit-based college since 2013 to give its students the opportunity to create the signature piece of art associated with the annual racing event on Belle Isle.

On Thursday, April 16, the top five design entries, chosen by the CCS faculty, went through the final judging process and a winner and second- and third-place finishers were selected. Mary McLain, a 22-year-old design student from Livonia, Mich., was chosen as the winner of the poster competition with a memorable creation that incorporates the elements of nature at Belle Isle Park, blended with the Detroit city skyline and a father and son watching race cars zoom around the iconic Scott Fountain on the island (image attached).

“It was a really tough decision for the judges this year as all the designs were unique and strong in their own way,” said Bud Denker, Chairman of the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, who has served on the judging panel in each of the last three years of the competition. “The level of talent and design skill is remarkable at CCS and all the students should be proud of the work they produced. At the finish line, Mary’s design just seemed to tell a perfect story of the experience at the Grand Prix and it was a unanimous choice as the winning entry.”

The winning design will help Detroit “Start the Summer” at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, May 29-31, as the official event poster will be produced, showcased and sold throughout the weeks leading up to the Grand Prix. The poster will be highlighted on race weekend and through the rest of the summer and the design may also be included on merchandise items moving forward.

“It’s really an honor to win this competition,” said McLain. “There were a lot of great entries and now I’m really excited to attend the Grand Prix and enjoy the experience on race weekend.”

The five-person panel that judged the top poster entries on Thursday included Denker, Chevrolet performance design styling director Todd Parker, WXYZ-TV Channel 7 sports anchor and reporter Brad Galli, Autoweek magazine creative director Ken Ross, and Ryan Ansel, a CCS instructor who leads the digital advertising curriculum at the school.

Finishing a close second in the competition was Esther Licata while third place went to Rachel Wujek. CCS students Laurel Tinklenberg and Kellye Perdue also produced strong top-five designs. The competing students were all part of the design class under instructor Francis Vallejo.

Source: Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix

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