Buick Turns Pinterest Board Into Car Concept

http://mashable.com/2013/03/28/buick-pinterest-car-concept/

Buick has put a social-network spin on its 2013 Encore luxury car by designing its interiors and exteriors based on a Pinterest board.

Following a call from nine influential design, fashion and food bloggers to create Pinterest boards speaking to their personal style and passions, the company unveiled the winning pinner on Wednesday night at the New York Auto Show. The "Pinterest to Dashboard" contest is a part of an effort to connect with a younger audience and show a different, more playful side of the brand.

The top collection came from a Pennsylvania-based bed and breakfast owner Michael Wurm Jr.— who has nearly four million followers on Pinterest. His boards, which featured sea foam-colored tones and beach scenes, were picked as the inspiration for new color palates, textures and design features in the existing car.

Wurm was flown out to Buick's Detroit design center, where he was presented with three different concepts, one from each of the three-person design team. He ultimately chose the design highlighted below as his favorite. "I have a totally different perspective of Buick now," he said.

From a design perspective, the team said they fell in love with Wurm's theme of going outdoors and used it as a jumping point.

"We pulled key elements from his boards that we thought were interesting," said Ven Lei, Buick color and trim designer. "The three of us came up with our own interpretations of the boards, and expanded on it based on mood, a theme and an environment. We used created color waves and textures such as woods, and ultimately wanted to show how something fun like this could be applied to what is already on the road today."

Lei said the brand has already received a "tremendous outpouring of input" from the Pinterest community. "It's been invaluable," she said.

Although the car won't be available on the market, the company said it would be open to rolling out the look in the future.

 

"Nothing you see is actually available, but if we got enough feedback either way, I'm sure our designers would go back and take a look at it," a Buick representative said at the event.

With about 71% of Pinterest's nearly 25 million users under the age of 45 — and 50% are 25-44 — Buick said it views the user base as an important market for the new Encore model. Not to mention, according to a Bizrate Insights study, about 70% of Pinterest users say they use the site to get shopping inspiration and 43% associate it with brands.

The company has also been promoting the "Pinboard to Dashboard" program across Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.