Sweden-based Polestar, a design-focused car brand with a designer as its CEO, has announced a design contest (running until 26 October). This requires entrants to design a new type of Polestar that “stretches the boundaries of imagination”, looks ahead 20 years without going into the realm of fantasy, and has “Pure” as its theme.

It could be a car or something else; the company’s designers are keen not to limit its future directions. The contest has categories for both student and professional designers, and designs can be submitted in the form of sketches or digital images. The shortlisted contestants will then develop their designs as digital models, with guidance from Polestar’s designers and Maximilian Missoni — the company’s head of design.

The winning designers in both categories will see their designs turned into hard models at Polestar’s design centre in Gothenburg.

Juan Pablo Bernal, senior interior design manager at Polestar, said: “We have experienced fantastic creative interpretation of the Polestar design philosophy from a wealth of aspiring designers all over the world. It was clear that Polestar, as a new brand with a strong design focus, presents a broad blank canvas for design exploration.

“With this contest, we invite designers to flex their creative muscles with a view to gaining real experience and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities in this field.”

Mr Missoni added: “As a designer, I recognise the extremely valuable experience that can be gained by being able to work so closely with a new brand like Polestar, especially since we view this opportunity as a way we can give back to the design community and help up-and-coming designers to excel.”