Students Embrace Ford Design Challenge; Share their Vision of Future Car Interiors

Mar 04, 2026

Ford designers, including Amko second in from the left, with the students during the presentations at Umeå Institute of Design in Sweden

COLOGNE, Germany – What might the interiors of future autonomous vehicles look like? That’s a question Ford put to students at the world-famous Umeå Design Institute in Sweden recently as part of a new collaboration.

And, in the space of just two months, the students came up with four unique interior design concepts that Amko Leenarts, design director for Ford of Europe, describes as “fascinating”.

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Designers: Tomás Gaviria Mejia and Benjamin Daniel Fodor, MFA Transportation Design, UID
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Threo explores how future interiors can provide emotional release without digital overload. Key elements include AI‑driven “nutrients,” an intelligent seat that applies dynamic pressure in turns, and a refined mechanical resonance channel that avoids artificial audio, supported by dual Offline and Online modes
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This project explores how the design of a vehicle’s interior can enhance the emotional intensity, excitement and sensory engagement of driving

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Amko explains: “We spoke to Demian Horst at Umeå Design Institute in Sweden and started a process of working with students there. It was a great opportunity for them and for us. For the students we could talk to them about how car design works in the real world and give them genuine insights. I know a lot of my team benefited from touchpoints with car companies when they were students and some of the stories I’ve heard of their experiences really shaped their decisions for the path they took.”

The brief given to the students was really a question; how might the design and experience of Ford interiors evolve to align with the expectations of the next generation of users? To help them answer that Amko and his team invited them to the Ford Design Studio, in Cologne, Germany, and also gave them a tour of the Ford Cologne Electric Vehicle Center.

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Designers: Max Westergård and Viggo Bergström, MFA Transportation Design, UID
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As semi-autonomous vehicles become more common, new opportunities arise to rethink the social dynamics of car interiors. Rapport explores how future mobility can shift focus inward, transforming the vehicle from a transport tool into a shared, social space
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Through workshops and prototyping, the team investigated how to reduce hierarchy and foster purposeful interaction among all passengers. The result is an interior concept where seats are reoriented for togetherness, tasks are modular and passable, and interfaces are visually clarified between software and hardware

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“It’s always a thrill for me to see our designs come to life there, watching all those incredible robots in action,” Amko adds. “What I find almost as fascinating is observing the students’ reactions — their wide eyes and gasps are infectious!

“When we went to Sweden just weeks later, and having met the students, we expected a high level of work. What we didn’t expect was how differently each of the four groups would interpret the brief.”

The four projects were Threo, Fun, Rapport and E A S E. Threo focussed on amplifying the thrill of driving with ideas to change the form, feedback and behaviour of things like the steering wheel in response to driving conditions. At the other end of the scale, Rapport was a project thinking about autonomous vehicles and aimed at reducing the traditional hierarchy.

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Designers: Josephine Samuelsson Wahl and Ruben Presun, MFA Transportation Design, UID
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Designed to adapt to two distinct lifestyles: young modern families seeking closeness and single, active individuals needing flexible space. The layout can be reconfigured to support togetherness or open storage
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Modular interior allows configurations to change according to the user's needs

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Rather than having a driver and passengers, they engineered an interior that gave every passenger the chance to do one of six tasks, looking after the driving, the music, lighting, games, snacks or navigation. And the way the seats were laid out encouraged eye contact and, as the name suggested, rapport

Another team looked at the functionality for two different groups of customers; young families and single, active individuals. Both groups need flexible storage so they came up with clever modular interiors. That means you could arrange the interior to carry bulky sporting items, or to bring your family closer.

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Designers: David D. and Love Björklund, MFA Transportation Design, UID
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The Ford Fun interior is like a playground, or a fidget park, with numerous inviting interactions and form elements to explore
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Guided by capability, affordability and smile, Ford Fun uses multi‑purpose cylinders to create a logical yet quirky continuous loop across the cabin. The approach supports interchangeable components and physical engagement, with a material palette focused on cleanliness and circularity

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“And one we enjoyed was the team who focused on fun,” Amko explains. “I think they likened the interior to a playground, or a fidget park, with lots of elements to explore and interact with. Some of their material choices were really interesting.

“From motorsport thrills, to smart and flexible solutions for family needs, and from embracing the fun of journeys to new interior concepts for autonomous vehicles, these students did a great job with the brief, really showing off their imagination and understanding. It’s clear they understood something we know well, that the needs and wants of customers can be very different. I really liked seeing that they weren’t scared to get their hands dirty too. And on top of that it just feels kind of good that we’re giving back to the community in some way, using our experience to inspire and help future young designers develop their talent. Hopefully this won’t be the last collaboration.”

Students experience the virtual reality tools that Ford designers use when creating their visions for future vehicles