[Editor’s Note: Today we have a very special article from our own Ticker Assistant, Jamie Rathjen. It’s also Jamie’s birthday today. Enjoy! — PH]
The Iron Dames are an all-woman endurance racing team that competes full-time in the World Endurance Championship and at big races in IMSA, the North American sportscar series. Since its beginning in 2018, the project and its drivers have also expanded into other racing series, rallying, karting, and an equestrian team.
They’ve always had bright pink cars and use the tagline “Women Driven by Dreams.” For their livery for the 24 Hours of Le Mans starting June 15, the tagline became a bit more literal.
The team asked a group of kids at an elementary school in the Le Mans area to draw what they want to be when they grow up, then asked their fans on social media. Then they asked their four endurance drivers: Sarah Bovy, Rahel Frey, Michelle Gatting, and Doriane Pin, the first three of whom are the Le Mans lineup. (All four said “race driver,” naturally. In a bonus video, Gatting also asked team employees about their dreams.)
You can click the video below, showing the visit with the kids, to play it.
View this post on Instagram
Everyone’s answers were fed into AI and became a series of drawings that make up the livery. A mosaic of dreams, if you will.
The result is an exceedingly fun and distinctive design punctuated by the second tagline “Every Dream Matters” on the front. I’ll definitely be looking out for the Iron Dames during the race, as I have for the previous few editions.
LOVE the article on the Iron Dames – they are truly an inspiration, and their car is awesome. Thank you!
Would have been cooler to use drawings from the kids instead of AI sludge.
Amen
This design concept is going to look like sludge no matter what. (And that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. It’s meant to look messy.) But AI gives you a consistent style throughout the images, plus less child labor =p
Agreed. If you’re not going to use actual kid’s drawings, I’d much rather see a real person designer take that content and make the cohesive design. AI is neat and all, but it doesn’t/shouldn’t take the place off an actual designer.
I like the idea for the livery though. Very cool concept.
I’ve loved LeMans since I was a tyke. This is just awesome to read about.
Awesome to see Le Mans getting some love! Forza Ferrari!
Nice write-up, Jamie! You alerted me to the Iron Dames’ existence back in February and I’ve been intrigued ever since. I appreciate what others have said about using the childrens’ original artwork or a professional artist instead of AI.
While I agree with all the concerns about AI creep (more because of how people use – and misuse – it than because there’s anything inherently wrong with the concept), I also understand how it may have made sense logistically to create this design using AI rather than trying to transfer all the children’s drawings, lock, stock, and barrel, into one cohesive design, or waiting for a professional artist to finish the project under what likely was a tight timeline. Believe it or not, there still would be copyright issues for using children’s artwork, and getting all the necessary waivers could have been problematic. I do think more human involvement would have been ideal, but I feel like the Iron Dames’ hearts were in the right place with this concept.