Press Release
Daniel Henneh Is Honored with the A' Design Award for Modu Vehicle in Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design
Daniel Henneh honored for vehicle, mobility and transportation design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Modu Vehicle by Daniel Henneh, designed for Modu, has been granted the A' Design Award in the Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design category. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the A' Design Award
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
About Modu Vehicle
Modu is a modular city car designed for urban mobility. The vehicle is built around interchangeable components. The left and right headlights are identical, and the same applies to the mirrors, the front and rear bumpers, the drive system and the chassis. This approach reduces the part count, the manufacturing cost and the energy used in production. The body is made of laser cut and bent anodized aluminium panels, with an electric drivetrain, in-wheel motors and air suspension. The car is configured online at purchase, and modules can be changed later as needs change.
About Daniel Henneh
I am a product design engineer from Ghana. With a background in both Electrical engineering (Bsc. from KGEU in Russia) and Design Engineering (Msc. at Penn State, US). I specialize in leveraging manufacturing technologies to enable unique products. Previous work include research and development of desktop 3D printers, development of general consumer electronics and even additive manufacturing of concrete houses.
Award Record
With this recognition, Daniel Henneh is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design Award
The A' Vehicle Design Award is an international vehicle design competition recognizing good vehicle designs by best vehicle designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to vehicle designers, mobility solution providers, transportation design studios and automotive engineers from all countries. Typical entries include cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, buses and trains. The awarded vehicle designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/vehicle
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/171148
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/171148
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!171148
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/365530
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Modu Vehicle
- Function
- Vehicle
- Category
- Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Automotive
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Sienna, Saddle Brown and Lavender
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Modu
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Daniel Henneh
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #171148
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Modu is designed around modularity and interchangeability of components. It can be configured both at purchase and later as the need changes without buying a new vehicle. Modu introduces the concept of interchangeability, for instance, the left and right headlights are identical, the driving mirrors, the front and back bumpers, even the drive system and chassis system. This significantly reduces the manufacturing cost, energy and subsequently a smaller environmental footprint.
- Inspiration
- I grew up in Ghana, West Africa where transportation continues to be an issue. Seeing first hand the potential of a highly optimized vehicle to impact lives, I was inspired to design a brilliant yet affordable solutions. Modu is designed to give the customer absolute freedom to configure the vehicle at the time of purchase and even later as their need changes without needing to buy a completely new car.
- Research
- Extensive academic research on urban mobility trends, material options, and advanced manufacturing, combined with user-centered design principles, drove Modu’s development. Informal interviews and digital prototypes captured local transportation insights and spurred iterative refinements. This research and feedback validated the need for a sustainable, adaptable vehicle, guiding design choices toward superior modularity, energy efficiency, and operational versatility.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was combining complete modularity with aesthetics and structural integrity, a tough balance since these often conflict. The inspiration for Modu's exoskeleton design is from military vehicles, this simplified the design and reduced part count. Additionally, making the parts interchangeable was a challenge but crucial, for instance the left and right headlights are interchangeable, even driving mirrors, the bumpers, the drive system and many other components.
- Realization and Technology
- The design of Modu was made possible through Design Thinking. Early ideas were captured via sketching, white boarding and sticky notes to capture critical features. These ideas were then refined through peer interviews and feedback. Iterative sketches led to CAD modeling in Siemens NX, with FDM 3D printing to validating key technical features. Realistic renderings in Keyshot and composition in Photoshop were used to visualize the vehicle and its potential use cases.
- Operation and Interaction
- The unique experience of this vehicle to starts right with the purchasing experience; The customer will configure the new Modu on an online platform where key elements such as size, specific modules and intended use can be chosen. the vehicle is then delivered after a few days due to the ease of customization. Operating Modu will be extremely easy with the ability to use the smartphone as a dashboard hence all the users music , frequently visited locations, contacts, etc all comes along for the ride on seamless experience.
- Project Duration and Location
- Project started in August 2024 in San Jose California and finished in January 2025
- Specifications
- Modu is modular so the dimension will vary base on the configuration. Minimum configuration 1.8m length x 0.85m width x 1.5m height Electric drivetrain, In-wheel electric motor, air suspension, laser cut and bent anodized aluminum body panels.
- Keywords
- Modular, City Car, Urban Mobility, Sustainable Design, Electric Vehicle, Interchangeable Components, Lightweight, Innovative, Compact, Energy Efficient, Flexible
