New London bus

The New Bus for London is inspired by the much-loved Routemaster and will use the latest green technology when it launches in 2012.

The Mayor unveiled the design for the New Bus for London in May 2010.

The New Bus for London will meet London Buses’ requirements for vehicles in public service in London, including high standards of accessibility, safety and emissions abatement. In addition, it will be more durable, more fuel efficient and better ventilated. The bus will incorporate a double-deck and a platform at the rear near-side corner, so passengers will be able to get on and off easily.

July 2010

Fascination car

The Highway Aircraft Corporation’s “Tomorrow’s Car Today” definitely catches the eye.  Rolled out in the late ’60s, the Fascination’s streamlined shape rang out echoes all the way back to the Dymaxion car (Small wonder. It started life in the 1930s as the “Airomobile”), but what really makes it really interesting isn’t the all-aluminium engine it originally had, but what was claimed would be in the newer models: the Nobel Gas Plasma Engine.

What’s that?  Apparently, this:

This engine is a closed two-cycle reciprocating engine that has no intake, uses no air, emitting no exhaust at all! The fuel is self-contained and hermetically sealed in the cylinders which are initially charged at the time of manufacturing, carrying their own power supply that will last approximately 60 to 75 thousand miles with no fall of efficiency.

Needless to say, only five were built very little was heard of the Fascination or the Nobel Gas Plasma Engine again.

Info via Future Car

May 2010

Jonathan Ive reveals Apple design secrets

I can’t draw, hate focus groups, love prototypes

Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design Jonathan Ive partially lifted the veil on the secretive machinations of the Apple design process at a special “Innovation Night” event held at London’s Royal College of Arts (RCA).

Ive is due to receive an honorary doctorate from the RCA tomorrow. Ive was interviewed on stage by outgoing RCA rector Professor Sir Christopher Frayling.

“I can’t imagine designing without making [physical products],” Ive told the assembled horde of 700 UK design gurus.

“I love making prototypes. We go right from idea to prototypes. I just love making objects.

“Prototypes create this dramatic shift in the conversation – suddenly it becomes tangible and the silence goes away.”

Ive explained why Apple limits its product range: “When you do everything to make the very best product, it also means your very focused on just a few products.”

Ive admitted that his drawing skills are “terrible”: “And I’m a lousy presenter. So I focus on designing instead,” he joked.

Read the rest on Macworld

June 2009

TTC introduces new counterfit measures

I know, I know – I am about a week behind on this, but on June 3rd, TTC announced new counterfeit measures to roll out in July. The passes will feature a hologram sticker as well as a one-time use sticker that will invalidate the pass for return once purchased (think credit card activation). The TTC is a little behind the times – smart cards are obviously the way to go, but will take a while to implement and will mean a costly overhaul of the fare system. On another hand, smart cards would also make a lot of high-paying jobs held by snoozing ticket wardens obsolete – bet the Transit Union would not be too happy about that.

Anyway, here’s what the pass will look like:

Bah! Same crappy design, but with more flare and shine. Has the photographer ever heard of white balance and exposure metering? I am not even going to bother this time.

But wait! There is hope! An interesting excerpt from the article:

Later this year the TTC will outline a plan to use art on its passes. Currently, the TTC uses a combination of art and photography when designing passes. The new art will be part of the overall pass design. The TTC will be issuing a request for expressions of interest in August. TTC customers can expect to see new art on Metropasses starting in April 2010.

Adam Giambrone, have you been reading my rants about the Metropass design? Hmmm? Please don’t screw this up – there are a lot of talented designers in the city who would love an opportunity to redesign this abdomination. Give me a shout, Adam.

June 2009

Design with intent

A great read about the role of good design and interaction in behavioral changes.

Over the past several months, I’ve been fortunate to meet and talk to a number of people — among them Jan Chipchase of Nokia, Peter Whybrow of UCLA, and Caroline Hummels of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands — about the role of the designer in behavior change. Our conversations echoed the pent-up ambitions I’ve often heard from the young designers I teach and work with. They also reinforced my belief that we’re experiencing a sea change in the way designers engage with the world. Instead of aspiring to influence user behavior from a distance, we increasingly want the products we design to have more immediate impact through direct social engagement. Institutions that drive the global social innovation agenda, such as the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have shown an interest in this new approach, but many designers hesitate to pursue it. Committing to direct behavior design would mean stepping outside the traditional frame of user-centered design (UCD), which provides the basis of most professional design today.

Read the rest at design mind

June 2009