CFAD student Mahaba Abu Hateb, was announced a Grand Prize winner of Jaguar MENA Design XE competition, which ran from September to December, 2014 in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Giving design students the chance to be part of the Jaguar XE story, the competition challenged university students to ‘unleash their creativity’ by designing their own unique piece of art inspired by Jaguar’s stunning new vehicle, the XE.

This participation is the result of CFAD cooperation and activities with industry, integrating students into a growing visual art and design industry, promoting their creativity, and exposing students to global design trends.

The Design XE judging panel included Julian Thomson, Advanced Global Design Director for Jaguar, Bruce Robertson, Managing Director for Jaguar Land Rover MENA, Harald Wittig, Creative Director of Spark 44, and Bernard Khoury, award winning architect and curator, who were charged with selecting final winners.

Design XE gave entrants the chance to select any art form to express their design with minimal restrictions on their creative innovation and saw students studying art, design, illustration, photography, sculpture, fashion, textiles and architecture submit creations from around the region.

Julian Thomson commented: “The Jaguar XE is one of our most prized creations to date and it was great to see budding artists and designers take inspiration from it to come up with their own creations. The winning entries show real promise and I along with my fellow judges have all been very excited to be part of this initiative from MENA.”

The winners of the competition will be jetting off on all-expenses paid trip of a lifetime to visit the iconic Jaguar factory and the Jaguar design studio in the UK. After spending some time with the Jaguar Design Team, they will also be part of an exhilarating drive experience with Jaguar and a professional driver to gain first-hand experience of the stunning performance, class-leading design and innovative technology features that Jaguar vehicles offer.

Bruce Robertson said: “When we launched the Design XE competition we were looking forward to seeing how aspiring artists and designers in MENA would interpret the Jaguar XE design. The artwork our winners have put forward showcase real potential and we are delighted to be able to offer these inspiring artists  a chance to visit our Jaguar Design Team in Britain, something I am confident they will enjoy.”

Mahaba’s work “Formed by the Wind” drew inspiration from a range of sources including the shape and dynamism of the new Jaguar XE. She also combined elements from nature and industry with textures deriving from tree roots and wires forming together to create a futuristic and exciting design.