I spent last Sunday morning sketching motorcycles. There are many things I can draw "off the top of my head" and motorcycles aren't one of them. I've never really considered the anatomy of a motorcycle. These exploration sketches are not intended to be designed per se, just me experimenting with fitting forms and lines into the architecture of two-wheeled vehicles.
I used underlays to help guide the layout and structure of the motorcycles. Maybe soon, I will attempt to design a bike considering all the cool electric motorcycles making the rounds!
Yesterday, GE introduced the Wattstation, designed by fuseproject. It strikes me as a nice looking, attention drawing design that seems appropriate for its assumed (by me) role of publicity and promotion for GE and urban electric vehicle initiatives. There is good technology beneath the pretty surface, citing faster charge times, smart grid power allocation, upgradability, etc.
It’s easy to call out issues of environmental durability at first glance. Though more so, I was struck by the stark contrast of these devices looking completely out-of-place in the city streetscapes in the banner images:
Charging ahead: WattStation (image links to WattStation site)
Once EV’s become more common and it would no longer be necessary for cities to trumpet their EV friendliness. Looking forward a bit, I imagined how a system like this be integrated into an existing landscape. I sketched this idea (quickly). It’s not wholly original, as I’ve read about concepts involving piezo electric generators + induction chargers to power electric cars as they drive. Still, I think my concept makes sense while minimizing the visual and technological “exposure” / “clutter”:
Coincidentally, there was a time when cars themselves were viewed as ugly, out of place visual clutter in urban centers.
Sometimes I have work dreams. Sometimes I have designy dreams. This designy dream was a nightmare. I was meeting with a new client who made motorcycles. The company was looking to revise the latest model as they had received some negative feedback from the field and weren’t really sure what to do. I walked up to the existing product to examine it and the instrument cluster/handlebars looked like this:
Two huge panels filled with unlabeled buttons. Then I woke up in a cold sweat, and drew this picture.
So I made the front page, just a shared honorable mention, but still cool. I guess I missed the whole "simple" requirement with my intentionally overcomplicated "
Siren" concept. :)
If you've visited the Amazon.com page for Autodesk Alias Sketchbook Pro 2010, you may have seen this little sketch of the software in action... that's me :)
I was asked to provide a couple images for the new version last year. I had just finished the Brief DVD and had been drawing coffee makers all week, so I quickly drew an iteration for SBP. I ended up liking it more than the sketch it was based off.
Featured in the Brief DVD 1. This project's goal was to design a new one cup coffee maker. I treated this as a full design project (and video recorded my entire design process along the way!) Check it out at www.thebriefdvd.com
project date: December 2008
(First, this product DOES NOT make the drink for you. It is not a vending machine. )
The Siren is an ordering device that uses rich, interactive gestural controls to allow the customer to custom craft his or her drink. The controls are designed to simulate the real action used by Baristas.
For example, to add espresso shots, toggle a horizontal lever which resembles the espresso portafilter. Three clear “ice” button toggles determine the amount of ice, and a cylinder resembling an inverted whipped cream aerosol can is pushed to add whip. A large hand crank wheel is used to add “foam”
Once the drink is specified, a printer located below the cup prints a QR code on the bottom. This code is used by the baristas to know what you ordered. You can also scan it later with a cell phone cam to tweet what you just drank.
The Siren also features a “siren” button which can be used to complete a partially configured drink based on your order history, tracked via your starbux card. When this aggregated drink data is combined with advanced barista algorithms it can be used as the “siren’s intuition” to generate a new drink you might like, on the spot. Putting a generative design tool into the hands of customers.
(also, this is supposed to be a little silly, but in a fun way)
The latest 1hdc over at core77 is an interesting one. With the rise in popularity of gestural based screen interfaces in devices such as the ipad, there is a level of interactive richness lost by touching a flat smooth screen. Buttons click, knobs twist and switches rock and pop. The task is to design a gestural interface for anything that goes beyond the screen.
After 3 years, we’ve retired Beki’s website (my wife) and moved her over to WordPress. Instead of simply porting her old theme in WP, I created a refreshed look and (hopefully) streamlined structure. Her new theme is built on the Thematic Framework. I started with the excellent Gallery child theme by Chris Wallace and added support for YAPB along with integrating new blog/event post types. The new site doesn’t use any flash for better mobile access and seo. Check it out!
Update: Here is a photo of my little sketch on display in Rochester:
A colleague and I were asked to contribute to a local IDSA chapter's display booth at the Rochester Auto Show coming up this spring. This series of car sketches was an afternoon exercise done in sketchbook pro.
It is conceptually a two-seater "city car" which takes on the form of a landrover crossed with a mini.
I havent updated here in a few months. I’ve been very busy with all sorts of “other” projects. This winter will be known as the winter when everything breaks for Ben: cars, computers, appliances, etc. So, this is a temporary interruption. There will be considerable activity soon. Promise.
