BASF presents winner of 2018 Detroit Middlecott Sketchbattle

SOUTHFIELD, MI, February 5, 2018 – Shubham Singh, a student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, won the 2018 Detroit Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment presented by BASF. Singh won $2,500 and a championship belt designed by Mob Steel.

Introduced in 2012, the experiment is Detroit’s “Fight Club of Design,” an underground, automotive industry event developed to identify emerging car design talent. Coinciding with the North American International Auto Show, the event is an automotive sketching competition where contestants contend for the Skethchbattle championship. Fifteen professional and student contestants competed in front of an audience in a timed, three-round boxing-themed setting.

During the final round of the competition, contestants were asked to incorporate a special color concept into their drawings. BASF created a custom color, Paranormal Red, specifically for the Detroit Sketchbattle.

“This is the third year BASF has sponsored Sketchbattle in Detroit,” said Paul Czornij, Head of Design for BASF in North America, who was also one of the judges. “It is an incredible way to identify emerging industry designers while also getting our unique color designs integrated into their outstanding car renderings.”

Other judges included: Jim Fleming, Director of Cadillac Exterior Design; Mark Trostle, Head of Performance, Passenger and Utility Vehicle Exterior Design, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; and Michael Smith, Recruiting and Talent Manager, Ford Design. Contestants were judged on sketch quality and adherence to the theme in each round.

“Paranormal Red had an eerie feel to it,” said Singh. “It was not just a single color, but a mixture of red, black, grey, orange and white that looked phenomenal on paper.”

The Sketchbattle raised more than $7,500 for Project Beautiful – Inside and Out, a Michigan-based non-profit that builds confidence and hope for people, especially women in shelters, to rebuild their lives.

For press photos, click on the links below:
https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2018/02/02-05-18__BASF_SketchbattleWinningSketch.jpg
Suggested caption: The winning sketch by Shubham Singh. (photo by Trista Dymond)

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2018/02/02-05-18_BASFShubhamSingh.jpg
Suggested caption: 2018 Detroit Sketchbattle winner, Shubham Singh, accepts his $2,500 check from Paul Czornij, Head of Design for BASF in North America, in front of the custom color Paranormal Red. (photo by Trista Dymond)

https://www.basf.com/press-photos/us/en/photos/2017/02/02-05-18_BASFSketchbattleCrowd.jpg
Suggested caption: More than 500 people attended the 2018 Sketchbattle to watch 15 artists compete in a boxing-themed automotive sketching competition at the St. Andrews Hall in Detroit. (photo by Mike Ferdinand)

About BASFs Coatings division

The Coatings division of BASF is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings, as well as decorative paints. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners’ needs all over the world. BASF shares skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific. In 2015, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about €3.2 billion.

In 2016, BASF acquired Chemetall, a leading global supplier of applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries and end markets. With this expansion in portfolio, BASF becomes a more complete solution provider for coatings. Solutions beyond your imagination – Coatings by BASF. For more information about the Coatings division of BASF and its products, visit www.basf-coatings.com

About BASF

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 17,500 employees in North America, and had sales of $16.2 billion in 2016. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.com.

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about €58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.

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