designbivouac

Nice Moves

Mind and metal benders, compliments of Chris Labrooy. View more via jalopnik.

Carnegie Mellon's Cadillac SRX is Driving Innovation On Its Own

Carnegie Mellon's Cadillac SRX drives autonomously for 33 miles. When looked at while considering all of the systems of lines of code that went into making this journey, this video is quite engaging. When looked at from another perspective, that of the driver, it is pretty boring. Just as its creators indented no doubt. The future is indeed here...and it will be interesting to see what we have to do from a user interface perspective to distribute it more widely in the coming years.

 

A Heads Up Solution to Enhance Bike Safety

Remarkable invisible bike helmet set to save lives.  

Iterations Towards Simplicity

Not much need be said here with regards to the evolution of the Cadillac logo over the years. This is a great example of how iteration and context of usage can drive a design towards a more minimal expression.

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More Than Able Typographer Creates "Able"

The "Able" font made a debut some time ago but I wanted to send out props to the very talented Matt Desmond for creating it. Able has been updated to pro status with many more glyphs and a companion Bold weight. Available at fontspring, myfonts.com, and Font Bros. To view more of the nice work by Minnetonka, MN based typeface designer Matthew Aaron Desmond, visit his studio site MADType

It Grows: Lego Shoreline City

Architectural inspirations are on the rise at the bivouac due to SimCity becoming available for the Mac on August 29th, 2013 and a fresh Lego Architecture Studio arriving at the bivouac. Shoreline City (pictured below) is on the rise too. Lego's Architecture Studio kit, while expensive, is as good as anything they have offered in terms of getting one thinking about patterns, the scale of buildings, the inter-relationships of forms, volumes, linear elements and everything else that goes in to making our cities the best they can be. My fingers are sore, but in a good way.

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Farnsworth House

Just Ship It Series: Cadillac Cien

Although debuting way back in 2002, once the ELR starts shipping in January, kindly turn your attention back to the Cien please Cadillac. One in hybrid form would be an excellent "halo" for the brand. Stunning...just stunning. Keep up the Art and Science explorations and get more on the road.

Killspencer's Killer Accessories

Killspencer has a beautiful line of iPhone veils as well as a fine line of bags on offer. Take a look at what goes in to many of their handcrafted items...apparently made right in downtown Los Angeles in the short film below. Here's to modern craftsmanship.

KILLSPENCER Workshop Film from Spencer Nikosey on Vimeo.

 

Hello HALO!

Night missions in your future plans? Consider adding a HALO belt to your loadout. The company is also working with Rickshaw on a new messenger bag to stow your kit in if you like. Here's to a nice balance of tech and simplicity for a good cause. Let's all see and be seen out there. 

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Halo Zero: San Francisco's Rickshaw Bagworks teams up with Halo Belt Company for an illuminated messenger bag

Hyped Up By the "Hyper-Matrix"

This "Hyper-Matrix" work from the media artist group Jonpasang made the rounds a whlie ago but seeing it again, as well as the "making of" video gives me new found respect for those out there who are taking experiences like this squarely to new levels of execution and excitement.

 

Enlightened Signature Elements

The Cadillac ELR design has been getting a lot of attention at the bivouac lately. In addition to the striking design and progressive technologies both inside and out, various small details stand out in a good way as well. Cadillac logo placement within both headlamp and tail light elements is well executed. Each adds an elegant and refreshingly understated, yet dynamic signature touch. That's a tough middle ground to hit. Here's hoping such attention to detail lights the way to forward to continued impressive designs coming out of the Cadillac studio in 2013 and beyond.

Cadillac ELR Officially Charges Up the Bivouac

With the release of the production version of the Cadillac ELR at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past week, General Motors proved yet again that energy behind the resurgence of the American automotive industry remains high. Any time a vehicle manufacturer comes out with such a stunning concept car, as they did in 2009 with their Converj concept, and manages to stay so faithful to the original concept vision, that company certainly deserves high praise. Audi came close to this sort of effort when they introduced the production version of the TT in terms of staying true to a concept. However, with respect to the ELR, this may be one of those rare occasions where the actual shipping car looks better than the concept embodiment.

 

Can you spot the concept vehicle?

GM also deserves credit for moving into the luxury Extended Range Electric Vehicle luxury niche before other large-scale luxury vehicle manufacturers. They are also introducing some new driving affordances unique to this type of vehicle, such as steering wheel-mounted paddles that allow drivers to induce regenerative braking on demand. While we will have to wait and see how the ELR actually performs, on paper things look promising. And if you are a fan of Cadillac's "Art and Science" aesthetics, on the show room floor they are looking great.

 

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Cadillac ELR...Just Ship It!

Eyes have been on this one for a while now. Loving the potential of this concept to market effort. Here's hoping the ELR performs as nicely as it looks!

New York Times Budget Puzzle

Sometimes I find myself noting something as interesting but it takes a while to really appreciate it to its fullest. That was the case with the New York Times Budget Puzzle which came out last November.

While in an information visualization brainstorm today, this came back to me as a great example of how to empower users to relate to a very abstract concept...our federal budget deficit. Its minimalistic approach and small details like representing 1 billion dollars with small blue squares that tally up in real time depending upon decisions users make is a nice touch. 

What Does Your Project Space Look Like?

And how are you getting on with your mates in it? We all know that space matters...and so does gravity as Paul Harrison and John Wood so delightfully illustrate in Tate Shots Issue 12.

 

 

BMW Concept C Focuses on Crowded Urban Commuting

As featured on TopSpeed, BMW revealed the new Concept C at the EICMA Show in Milan. The Concept C is BMW’s vision of the big scooter with the C in the name standing for "commuter." It is aimed a alleviating some of the crowding on urban streets associated with shorter daily errand running and shorter commuting routes. This concept is BMW’s response to that increasing traffic situation. They say the Concept C represents "the prospect of an innovative, sporty big scooter for the future premium segment." The concept is enhanced by several innovations to the scooter market, including video camera rear-view monitors.

Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept: Small is the Next Big Thing in Luxury

 
Cadillac's Urban Luxury Concept which debuted this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show is just the kind of product that will continue to fuel General Motor's emergence from bankruptcy. For those that took part in a fairly strong IPO this week, this is another encouraging sign of solid design thinking taking place at GM these days. With room for four, estimated fuel economy ratings of 56 mpg city/65 mpg highway, and a number of innovative features in store beyond the scissor-style doors, the bivouac says bring this to market ASAP! This is "Art and Science" that's great for both the senses and the planet. See more photos via World Car Fans.

Great Revelations: Checking out Apple's Checkout Accordian Fold Interface

From Luke Wroblewski on A List Apart and thanks to Arjun for passing this one along. Wanted to get this on the Bivouac in the Interface Hall of Fame as an outstanding example of reducing percieved complexity and how, through great design, we can help pull users through transactions that can otherwise seem overwhelming.

By stripping away the form elements as each section of the form is completed, Apple helps reinforce a sense that users are making progress through the check out process. Along the way, should users leave a required field of information blank, a yellow prompting box appears right next to the field letting them know it is needed to continue. Stratification of information in clear zones serve as landscape "mile markers", letting users intuitively sense where they are in terms of completing their task.

The Warmth of Great Ideas

While perhaps not entirely ideal in that BioLite still draws on buring wood as a source of fuel, it is nonetheless a revolutionary stove that makes cooking on wood as clean, safe and easy as modern fuels while generating electricity to provide illumination and cell phone connectivity to those that are off-grid.

Like other carefully designed stoves using fans to blow air into the fire, BioLite dramatically improves combustion. However, other stoves require small amounts of electricity to power their fans. BioLite stoves solve this problem by converting a fraction of the fire’s thermal energy into electricity to power our combustion improvement system. Excess electricity is made available to users for charging small electronic devices such as Cell phones and LED lights. A bright idea indeed.

The Power of Tiny Things

Dust Breedings...a moving exploration by Jan Goldfub and Sacha Neudeck. Nice.

dust breedings from goaj on Vimeo.

BMW Strives to Keep it Simple with New Simple Concept

Perhaps leveraging lessons gained from the C1 program years ago, BMW is exploring a new variant of a vehicle that mixes the best from the automotive and motorcycle design...something a company like BMW is ideally positioned to do. Let's hope they keep leaning into this concept...so to speak...and move beyond research and development for this new vehicle segment.

BMW C1-E Possibly Headed to a Sidewalk Near You

BMW looks set to resurrect the C1 vehicle genre with a revised variant that could be electrically powered. While once perhaps ahead of its time, this may well mark the return of a intriguing vehicle form factor give the renewed focus on sustainable transportation solutions, rising fuel prices and urban crowding. We may all finally have the pleasure of seeing one C1 near us soon.

Erosion of Luxury

The skyscraper "Erosion" designed by Herzog & de Meuron would certainly make a striking addition to the New York skyline. The Swiss architects have designed a building that supports individualized floor layouts for occupants, offering more external space for some depending upon tastes and desires. As is pointed out in a recent post on Eikongraphia, one of the more notable features is a floor-to-ceiling height of four meters. The modernist aesthetic, panoramic cityscapes and open plans would be welcome by many urban dwellers. But in these tough economic times, could such a design really see the light of day or will this vision be worn away by the force of current economic winds?

For more discussion of this proposed design, head over to Eikongraphia.

Echochrome offers a new perspective on video gaming

Although somewhat puzzling initially, Echochrome offers Escher-like environments that players navigate by "filling" broken pathways as they change their perspective view on the scene. This title offers a refreshing angle on brain-enhancing gaming.

BMW GINA Visionary Concept Vehicle

GINA (which stands for Geometry and Function in Infinite Adaptation) may be a bit of an acronym stretch but then again stretching is quite appropriate for a concept vehicle with a flexible skin. Take a closer look at how the GINA Visionary Concept Vehicle is set to reshape automobile design thinking.

Getting Smarter

With the Smart fortwo becoming available in the United States, perhaps more sustainable attitudes towards transport will shift into a higher gear. Who knows, maybe we will see a new generation of innovative modes of moving designs like BMW's C1 coming into the marketplace . It won't be easy to overcome significant challenges, as evidenced by the Smart fortwo vs. Hummer H2 size comparison image below. However, with new advances in active and passive safety coming to the market each year, perhaps we can find smarter alternative modes of movement before gasoline hits the $5.00 mark.

Future Bivouac

Sean Godsell’s Future Shack prototype emergency housing concept creatively balances sustainability with sensible and minimalist design. Now that's bivouacking in style.

Now That's Smart

DaimlerChrysler AG has announced that it will be making the smart brand available in the U.S. market beginning in 2008. The successor to the smart fortwo will be available in three models. Surely a wise decision. Thanks to those at DaimlerChrysler who have been thinking small...in a big way.

Stunning Phaeton Assembly Plant

This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "working on the factory floor." And what a floor it is!

Take a closer look at the Dresden facility via: http://forums.vwvortex.com

Marumushi newsmap

Notable for it powerful real-time visualization of the most popular news stories being read according to Google news statistics.

For more details visit: newsmap.jp