OFFICIAL POSTER COMPETITION
DETROIT, Mich. (April 13, 2023) – With design imagery reflecting the return of NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing to the Streets of Downtown Detroit, College for Creative Studies (CCS) junior Adrian Keeler won the 2023 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear Official Poster Competition on Tuesday afternoon, April 11. The final judging took place on the CCS campus in Downtown Detroit as a distinguished panel selected the design created by Keeler (image attached). The final poster will be unveiled in early May and will be available for purchase online at www.DetroitGP.com in advance of the upcoming Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, June 2-4.
The 2023 design competition marks the 11th consecutive year that the Grand Prix and CCS have worked together to provide students at the well-respected Detroit art college the opportunity to create the official poster to represent the annual summer racing festival in the Motor City. Grand Prix fans were also included in the selection process as each of the top five poster entries were shared on the Detroit GP social media channels, with followers encouraged to vote for their favorite design. The fan vote was factored into the final selection process, along with the choices of the eight-person judging panel that evaluated each of the final designs.
“We are so proud to build on the tradition of the Detroit Grand Prix commemorative poster and we continue to be amazed by the creativity and artistic skills that we see every year from the students at CCS through this annual competition,” said Grand Prix Chairman Bud Denker, who served on the judging panel. “Adrian’s design was certainly one of the most unique poster designs we have ever seen. There was so much depth and thought put into his design. By combining the colors and vibrance of a floral theme with the sleek Indy Car racing toward the GM Renaissance Center, it will represent a great poster celebrating the inclusiveness of our event and its return to the streets of Downtown Detroit this summer.”
Keeler’s design helps illustrate the dawn of a new era for the Grand Prix in Detroit, with the event returning to the Downtown streets for the first time since 1991. The winning entry reflects the spirit of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear and its transition to a challenging new street circuit in the heart of the city, with more accessibility for fans, a renewed commitment to the local community and an event that features something for people of all ages and diverse backgrounds.
“I was inspired by the art nouveau era, which features some structural line work with floral embellishments,” said Keeler, a junior at CCS, whose family recently moved to Dearborn from the west side of Michigan. “This was such a great experience and I am so honored to have my design selected as the winning poster. As someone who isn’t really a big race or car fan, I think the Grand Prix is just a great event for everyone to come together and celebrate in the city. I really wanted my design to reflect how accessible the event is for everyone and not just people who love cars.”
A total of eight judges participated on-site at CCS on Tuesday as they intently watched all five finalists describe their vision and process behind each design. Judges included Denker; Bobby Keyes, Vice President of Detroit Sports Media Association; Jose Gonzalez, General Motors Design Manager; Jeanette Puig Pey, Lear Corporation Sr. Global Design Manager; Priya Mann, WDIV-TV Channel 4 local reporter/news anchor; Antone Amye, Detroit News Sr. Design Editor; Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press Deputy Sports Editor and Amy Ruopp, CCS Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Department Chair of Art Education.
The five finalists in the competition were students in the CCS Digital Illustration class led by instructor Brian Kotulis. Some of the top illustration and design students in the country study at CCS, a private art and design college in Midtown Detroit, and the Grand Prix proudly provides the opportunity each spring for the students’ talent to shine in the annual poster design competition, that is part of the actual class curriculum. The students gain real-world experience in working with an actual “client” to create a professional look and feel for the finished creation. The competition gives the students a chance to create a unique piece of art while keeping alive the Grand Prix tradition of commemorative posters dating back to the very first Detroit Grand Prix in 1982. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear and the Detroit Sports Media Association worked together to provide a small scholarship for each of the students that created the top five designs in this year’s competition.
CCS sophomore Qianhua Bower finished second in the competition while the design created by sophomore Megan O’Kane was selected as the third-place submission. Senior Julia Shuler and sophomore Spencer Elter received Honorable Mention recognition for their respective poster designs.
ABOUT THE DETROIT GRAND PRIX
The Detroit Grand Prix is a 501(c)3 organization and a subsidiary of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. Scheduled for June 2-4, 2023, the event will return to the streets of Downtown Detroit for the first time since 1991. The Grand Prix will include the Chevrolet INDYCAR Grand Prix featuring the cars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the sports cars of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, the rising stars of racing competing in INDY NXT by Firestone and the iconic muscle cars of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. For more information, visit www.DetroitGP.com and follow our social media pages at www.facebook.com/detroitgp, www.twitter.com/detroitgp, and www.instagram.com/detroitgp.
