BENJAMIN R. LLOYD

motorcycle anatomy

benlloyd — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:35:40 +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

nduc

benlloyd — Sat, 29 May 2010 22:40:50 +0000

1HDC Gestural Interfaces

benlloyd — Sat, 29 May 2010 22:35:29 +0000

(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)

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!

city car sketch

benlloyd — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:04:39 +0000

Update: Here is a photo of my little sketch on display in Rochester:

interruptions

benlloyd — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:30:26 +0000

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.