DS3 Roof Designs Showcasing Applicant Individuality

"I was drawn to the pop, quirky, and happy colors of the Citroën DS3. When I want to cheer myself up, a car like this seems like it could make every day happy. I think the streets would become more enjoyable if there were more fun cars. " Car life essayist Yumi Yoshida's cheerful comment energized the participants, sparking real-time chats about the DS3 throughout the venue.

What particularly captured the attendees' attention was the roof design judging session. The Citroën DS3 features a "vehicle personalization" system that allows customers to choose and combine colors for various car parts to their liking. You can select the body color, roof and door mirror colors, wheel colors, dashboard, and seat materials. Furthermore, roof stickers are available for those who want to express even more individuality. Thus, under the theme "What if you could freely design the roof?", unique roof design ideas were solicited from the public. Of the approximately 150 submitted works, three were selected for the final judging. The venue displayed the works, and in addition to on-site voting, Twitter voting, and selection by the judges, the winning entries were narrowed down. We asked designer NOSIGNER and Shun Kawakami, who participated as judges, about the submitted works and the design possibilities of the DS3.

DS3 displayed at the event venue

Car life essayist Yumi Yoshida

--- What were your impressions of the three final entries?

NOSIGNERAll were works of comparable merit, but among them, I felt a sense of speed in the car from the work using stripes.

KawakamiLinework suits cars, doesn't it? There's an interesting afterimage effect when it moves.

NOSIGNERThe vivid coloring is also good. The mosaic pattern design, which was selected as the best work, has a brilliance that evokes the future. One of the DS3's charms is its vivid body colors, but I think it would match any color.

"A Design Evoking the Future"

--- Roof design for cars has a long history, starting with racing cars. What role do you think modern roof designs, like that of the DS3, play?

NOSIGNERI think there's an interesting aspect of communication design. Simple two-dimensional graphics, through collaboration with the product, can spread into the city and entertain people.

KawakamiI've been transferring graphics onto products and walls for a while now, and I believe design has various possibilities. By connecting with cars, it can even transform streets into art. The potential for expressing individuality expands.

--- What are your thoughts on the design of the Citroën DS3?

NOSIGNERThe DS3 has a unique, vivid sensibility. I really love the first-generation DS; its innovative style was quite radical, wasn't it? That car was built with the motivation of creating a spaceship. While the DS3 has a completely new style, I think it successfully incorporates the original DS's spice into a modern car.

KawakamiThe early DS models are great. I own a C4, and I always feel a strong individuality in what Citroën designs. The DS3 also offers the enjoyment of personalizing it in various ways, which I think suits modern lifestyles. Its compact size makes it a good second car. It would also suit active women. Riding in the passenger seat would be fun too.

Shun Kawakami

NOSIGNER

--- Citroën's theme this time is "anti-retro." How do you interpret that?

KawakamiInstead of looking to the past, pursuing new designs is a constant characteristic of Citroën, I believe. They are always modern.

NOSIGNERYes, I think Citroën has always embodied anti-retro. They never revert to the past. To put it bluntly, they have many peculiar cars. I like that they express their individuality without being overly conscious of the market.

KawakamiEven as a brand, Citroën seems special. No matter how modern and avant-garde the design, the moment you see the double chevron logo, it looks chic. The Citroën brand has a special resonance, like it signifies French contemporaneity.

NOSIGNERThat's nice. Citroën cars always make me feel the future. The shape of the future today feels very organic. That's why, for example, the concept car Citroën GP, although it only exists in a game, has an organic design. And I think the DS3 also has a design that evokes the future.

--- The winner of the public roof design competition, Takahiro Ueda, is actually a gamer. We heard him say he likes the sense of speed in games.

NOSIGNERAh, I understand that feeling. The color scheme is a bit like Tetris, isn't it?

KawakamiWhen it comes to car roof designs, there are often constraints that lead to similar results, but this one lacks that sense of déjà vu. Perhaps because it originated from a game, it feels like a new worldview. I think it would be interesting even in monochrome, not just in color.

The winning work from the public roof design competition (left), and the two works that narrowly missed the final selection.