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Events
Eve of Eyes - 1994 - Present
Several years after the car show started the leadership of the event decided to add an informal evening during the weekend for members of the design community. Initially we held this at the Activities Center of the Ford House but it soon outgrew that venue and now the location moves from year to year. Some of the venue hosts have been:
- Edsel & Eleanor Ford House – Activities Center
- LDM Technologies Design Center – Auburn Hills
- Becker Group-Megatech Engineering Center – Warren
- UT Automotive Idea Center – Dearborn
- DaimlerChrysler Design Center – Auburn Hills
- 3M Automotive Innovation Center – Livonia
- Lear
- DCX Design Dome
- The Underground World Corp.
- STOLA
- Nissan Design
- Toyota Calty Design Research
- Lear Corporation
- Walter P Chrysler Museum
- A Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education (College for Creative Studies)
Attendance has varied over the years from 300 to 700.
Eve has evolved into a chic designers night tailored for the design community celebrating the past, present and future of automotive design greatness. This is one social opportunity that automotive and design enthusiasts try not to miss.
With a festive spirit and the anticipation of good times ahead, Eve of Eyes serves as the inaugural event for the exciting Eyes on Design weekend.
Eve of Eyes is an informal reception which celebrates the design profession by bringing together automotive designers, top level decision-makers, enthusiastic car lovers, collectors and those who just like cars. The event is open to the public and allows people, regardless of their background, to enjoy a rare opportunity to interact with designers who create the shapes and make the cars that all of us enjoy everyday.
The reception serves as a celebration for designers – young and old – who share their insights, design tips and memories surrounded by the vehicles they helped create. From the young designer just starting a career at a world-class design center to the accomplished and season veteran, Eve of Eyes is the place to be.
Vision Honored - 1990 - Present
Among the most important innovations over the years was the addition of a formal Black Tie evening honoring a designer in the field of transportation with the EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award. (Click on Past Award Winners to view the entire list of winners). Vision Honored is an evening when designers and automotive leaders gather to celebrate.
Limited to 500 people, it has become a “must do” evening for the automotive design profession and industry executives who wish to support the mission of the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology—“to move forward the day when blind people recover some level of vision, and function independently.”
The venue for Vision Honored changes from year to year. Arriving guests are greeted with a spectacular display of vehicles representing designs of past, present and future. The evening begins with hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Followed by a brief audio presentation paying tribute to the honored Lifetime Design Achievement Award recipient. Guests then enjoy a magnificent dinner, followed by a celebration of desserts & music.
Vision Honored is, and always will be, specifically designed to be a “fun” evening. It has always exceeded that assignment! The event has allowed the design world to enjoy a variety of venues around the metropolitan Detroit area including:
- International Center
- Chrysler Tech Center
- Masco Corporation
- ITT Automotive
- Cadillac World Headquarters
- Detroit Institute of Arts
- Ross Roy Group
- LDM Tech
- Magna International
- Detroit Opera House
- DaimlerChrysler Headquarters
- GM Vehicle Engineering Center
- GM Heritage Center
- Roostertail
It would be singularly inappropriate for an eye institute to make a decision relative to the specialty of vehicle design. What do we know about design? Actually, very little!
And so the recipient of the Lifetime Design Achievement Award is chosen each year by those who have previously won the award. They decide who is to join this most prestigious list.
Some ask, why a black tie event? Look at the list of previous winners. They represent the most significant palette of auto designers who have ever lived. If we are honoring one of the design professions greatest contributors why would we not dress up for the occasion?
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