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.
sightings: a little mention
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. :)
sightings: SBP 2010
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.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:
city car sketch
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.
sightings: Skid Steer Ideation
My entry for the 1hdc ideation sketches challenge at core77.com was given an honorable mention for "cool topic" ! Sweet.
The second image is taken from a hands-on demo video for a new Lenovo ideapad u1 hybrid tablet on Engadget.com. They happen to be browsing Core77, and you see (for a few seconds) my skid-steer concept sketches. Original post here.
race fliers are fun!
one of my hobbies is rc car racing. it's a great hands on, social, competitive and interesting hobby. I volunteered to create promotional race fliers for my local track. here are the first three.
Sometimes I do feel like I’m in the basement. Positive thought: when starting at the bottom or in the back, there is only one way to go: up. Starting in the front, one can only stay in place or move back. I think it speaks for itself.
Nice image from a friend.
Thanks Brodie!
I’ve changed over my blog to run on wordpress. I felt a little constrained by Silverstripe, which is still a great platform as a CMS but not a blogging tool. The kajillions of plugins for WP attracted me too. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction. Thanks for visiting, let me know what you think!
