BENJAMIN R. LLOYD » blog

Keyshot 3 realtime vs. render

benlloyd — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:51:40 +0000

The computer used is a 1st gen unibody macbook pro (core2duo 2.4ghz / 4gb ram), by no means a fast machine. The 8 hour render is simply an “overnight render” where the settings are all bumped up and I just let it go. Removing the liquid from inside the bottle greatly reduces the scene render time.

What I learned from this exercise is that longer render times seem to make little difference in the outcome. I’ll need to experiment more to find the best balance between quality and efficiency.

one thing leads to another

benlloyd — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:15:48 +0000

look what I got in the mail…

benlloyd — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 01:57:00 +0000

urbanears platten

benlloyd — Fri, 27 May 2011 02:52:21 +0000

Got these recently. They are pretty awesome. The remote and mic works great, sound like hot butter and are lightweight yet feel sturdy. Primer Grey, totally.

http://www.urbanears.com/#/headphones/plattan/plattan-dark-grey

Teenage Engineering OP-1

benlloyd — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:48:49 +0000

EV Charging

benlloyd — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:37:56 +0000

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.

a nightmare

benlloyd — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:34:44 +0000

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

benlloyd — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 21:04:15 +0000

sightings: SBP 2010

benlloyd — Sat, 29 May 2010 22:57:33 +0000

Beki’s New Website Live

benlloyd — Sat, 29 May 2010 22:25:12 +0000

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!