World Car Awards has named Tatsuyoshi Ohmiya, a fourth-year industrial design student at Kanazawa College of Art and Design in Japan, as the winner of the World Car Design Student Award.
The award ceremony was held on November 3, 2026, at the college’s campus in Ishikawa Prefecture, celebrating a designer whose work impressed the World Car Award’s Japanese jurors for its combination of beauty, functionality and thoughtful use of space.
In recommending Ohmiya for the award, the jurors highlighted the attention to function running through every aspect of his designs. They praised his understanding that successful industrial design must combine visual appeal with practical purpose, a principle that extends well beyond the automotive world.
The jurors also singled out his determination to develop his designs within the smallest possible package. They saw in his work concepts similar to those previously proposed by Frank Stephenson, known for his design work at Ferrari and McLaren, and praised the natural way Ohmiya had incorporated those ideas into his own approach.
Ohmiya graduated from Ishikawa Prefectural Technical High School in March 2022 before enrolling on the Industrial Design Program at Kanazawa College of Art and Design in April 2023. He joined Secca inc. as a junior designer in June 2024, alongside his studies.
His work was exhibited at the Ishikawa Business Creation Fair Ishikawa 2025 in May 2025, while further recognition followed in August 2026 with Excellence in Visual Design at the ASIAN Design Challenge 2026.
Now completing his fourth year at the college, Ohmiya plans to continue his studies in the next academic year, either at graduate school or as a research student.
World Car Awards representatives Mr Okazaki and Motohiro Yamazaki presented the award at the ceremony, alongside guest speakers Mr Iwauchi, Chief Designer at Mazda, and Mr Yuki, a designer at Suzuki. Faculty members and students from the college also attended.
The Road to World Car 2027 began in September and included an official launch at the Paris Motor Show in October. Following the announcement of the World Car Design Student Award in Japan the Road to World Car 2027 continues with the LA Test Drives in November, before the Top Ten finalists for World Car of the Year and the Top Five finalists in the other four vehicle categories are announced on January 5, 2027.
The Top Three in the World finalists will be revealed at the London International Motor Show on Friday, February 26, 2027, before the journey reaches its conclusion on Wednesday, March 24, 2027, when the 2027 World Car Award winners will be announced at the New York International Auto Show.
Please stay tuned to World Car TV (https://www.youtube.com/worldcartv) for a new episode coming soon, featuring the World Car Design Student Award ceremony.
Design is a significant focus for the World Car Awards highlighted by the World Car Design of the Year award. Eligible vehicles for this award are comprised of all eligible vehicles from all other World Car Awards categories.
The World Car Awards’ design panel, consisting of highly respected world design experts, first review each candidate for the World Car Design of the Year award. They then establish a short-list of recommendations for the jurors. This short list will be announced along with the Top 10/5 finalists in all categories on January 5, 2027.
Anja Bracht, Pforzheim University
Marek Djordjevic, Art Center College of Design
Fabio Filippini, ACCAEFFE Creative Consulting
Antony Grade, Retired – Renault
Gert Hildebrand, Owner, Hildebrand Design
Victor Nacif, Chief Creative Officer, Brojure.com & Design Chair, New School of Architecture and Design
Shiro Nakamura, CEO, Shiro Nakamura Design Associates Inc.
For more details on our design panelists, please visit: https://www.worldcarawards.com/2027_design_panel.asp
