Car drawings made by kids become sketches produced by Nissan Design Studio in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – It was a simple question: How do you create a drawing contest with workers' children to celebrate Children's Day at Nissan Brazil? The answer: "Automobile of the Future," and who would be better than the team that thinks up the cars of tomorrow to help? The team at Nissan Design America Rio (NDA-R) agreed to judge, and they ended up going way beyond and transforming the selected winners into real sketches.

Over 10 days in October, the children of Nissan Brazil's workers submitted drawings to the contest. The kids were instructed to draw the car they would like to see in the future. Winners were chosen after the Children's Day. The level of creativity exhibited by the kids was so surprising that, beyond the three winners, the Nissan Design team decided to award an honorable mention prize to one drawing showing concern with the planet's sustainability – a topic committed with Nissan's pillars.

The three winners plus one honorable mention are:

• Karine, a five-year old daughter of a worker from Resende Industrial Complex
• Sophya, a 10-year old daughter of a worker from Resende Industrial Complex
• Gabriela, a nine-year old daughter of a worker from Resende Industrial Complex
• Nathália (honorable mention), a 10-year old daughter of a worker from São José dos Pinhais' Unity

After selecting the winning drawings, NDA-R designers went to work and interpreted each one into professional sketches. At the same time, the designers were concluding work on the two concepts presented earlier this year at the São Paulo Motor Show 2014, the Kicks Concept and New March Rio 2016 Edition. Nissan designers gave the same level of attention to the kids' drawings as they gave to the real concept cars.

"The joy of working with children is the opportunity to deal with freedom from all restrictions," said Robert Bauer, designer-in-chief of Nissan Design America Rio (NDA-R). "There are no limits when it comes to the kids' imagination. As professional designers, we can see through the imagination of a child and realize what is possible. Kids allow themselves to draw anything and change the perspective. They don't think outside the box because they don't have this 'box.' There is something refreshing in working with the kids – the joy of life and their sharp sense of recreating the world are very inspiring. In all the drawings recreated in our studio, we noticed a concern with people, the environment and its preservation. It was wonderful to share our studio with them because they are our future, and they create worlds adults could never imagine. It is an experience that brings us energy and makes us rethink our concepts."

# # #