FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Oakwood Group Sponsors MFA Studio with The College for Creative Studies

Dearborn, MI – June 12, 2017 – As part of an ongoing collaboration between The Oakwood Group and CCS, students in the Color and Materials Design Graduate Program at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan recently collaborated with The Oakwood Group as part of their Trend Forecasting & Future Scenario Planning course in their first year of the two-year masters program.

Working directly with design and engineering staff at Oakwood, the project challenged students to develop forward thinking / brand appropriate color, material, pattern and finish concepts for vehicle audio covers. Specific focus was placed on vehicle interior audio parts that showcase the technologies of The Oakwood Group.  This project was extremely relevant at a time that most Auto OEMs are moving quickly to add brand recognition to vehicle audio systems through the use of luxury speaker grilles.

In the five-week project, students began by researching specific user scenarios, identified recent trends that are relevant to the Audio and Sound product group. Sally Erickson Wilson, Associate Professor Chair of the Graduate Program in Color and Materials Design College for Creative Studies, challenged the students to visually communicate the idea, ‘What does sound look like?’

An extremely diverse range of concepts were presented by the students to The Oakwood Group at the conclusion of their 2017 Winter Semester. “We truly value our relationship with this world-renowned institution. When we collaborate with CCS, everybody wins. The students receive real world experience and scholarship and the Oakwood team receives inspiration and ideas which enhance our customer proposals and product offerings”, said Matt Gerwolls, Director of Sales and Marketing, The Oakwood Group.   “During this studio event, the student’s ideas related decorative audio cover themes, true materials and pragmatic beauty exceeded our expectations and can quickly influence the innovations we continue to develop for transportation interiors”

The students received First, Second and Third place awards from Oakwood for their imaginative and thought-provoking work.

Contact:

Michael Johnson

[email protected]

1100 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn, MI 48124

(248) 974-6005 / Fax (313) 561-7784

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