Gaurang Nagre Portfolio

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

1

2

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

ii

Copyright Š 2011 - 2012 Student document publication, meant for private circulation only.

All rights reserved.

Graduate Diploma Programme in Design, Product Design, 2007 - 2012 National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India.

No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, xerography and videography recording without written permission from the publisher, Gaurang Nagre.

Edited and designed by Name : Gaurang Nagre E-mail : gaurang.nagre@yahoo.com gaurangnagre@gmail.com nagre_g@nid.edu Processed at National Institute of Design (NID) Paldi, Ahmedabad-380007 Gujarat, India www.nid.edu Printed in Ahmedabad, India.

April, 2012 4

P

R

O

L

O

G

U

E

Design as a process more than the end result which has rejuvenated me as a designer.

The final result is for the audience, while the journey is what has excited me, taught me and helped me grow as a designer. It does not follow a path nor rules, and its intangible essence can only be experienced. The audience regardless of their background has a hidden designer in them which is always anxiously lurking out, and this defines their taste which the designer relentlessly tries to satisfy all his life.

For me a good design is the one which gets rooted in the audience mind. In my journey to achieve this, ideas have pitched in at the most unexpected times and my skills have helped me articulate them. Needless to say it is design that I want to cherish in the forthcoming years of my life.

Further ahead I will be sharing some of my works and insights from my four year journey in design. I hope you enjoy‌

- Ahmedabad, September 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

v

+9196 1999 7227

6

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre Date of birth : February 6, 1989 - 23 years e-mail : gaurang.nagre@yahoo.com gaurangnagre@gmail.com nagre_g@nid.edu Permanent address : C-502, Silver Sands, Piramal Nagar, Goregaon (W), Mumbai - 400 062, India.

Qualification : Under Graduate Diploma in Product Design from the National Institute of Design Ahmedabad, India Skills : Hand sketching and rendering, digital rendering, visualization and conceptualization, 3D modeling, clay modeling, tape drawing, tape rendering Softwares : Alias studio tools, Alias Showcase, alias Sketchbook Pro, Rhino, Keyshot, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign, Magics, Grasshopper (Basic), Auto Cad, Processing and Audrino (Programming and circuitry)

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Awards : 2002 - Final round in Balashree Award - Presidential Award (fourth level) 2000 - 2004 - Four painting exhibitions in Mumbai 2005 - Third in merit for Intermediate drawing exam and first in four subjects 2008 - Nirlep Design Innovation Award - First place 2008 - Top 10 selection in Nissan car design competition - National level 2009 - General Motors Award on ‘Product Design Detailing’ 2010 - Australian Endavour Scholarship - Studied one semester at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology 2010 - Shortlisted for Wacom 72 hour Survival kit Design Competition - Top 10 globally 2011 - Top 15 selection in ‘KISKA’ - SIMKOM snowvehicle design competition 2011 - PACE global competition - Vancouver, Canada - Six month project (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education) Best design - (Team seven Design lead, National Institute of Design, India) Best Market Research - (with Michigan TECH, USA) Second best Engineering - (with PES Institute of Technology, India) Second best ready for production - (with Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico) 2011 - Six months Internship at Chevrolet - India 2012 - Shortlisted for Interior Motives Design Awards 2012 - Two week digital rendering workshop for Product Design (Undergraduate students) at National Institute of Design.

2013 - One week marker rendering workshop for Product Design (Postgraduate Students) at the National Institute of Design. vii

“ driving my life . . .

8

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Peugeot Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 010

Pininfarina Design Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 018

Sustainable Urban Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . 028

Chevrolet 2030 (Internship) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 040

Just for fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Product Design works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

9

10

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

11

12

13

14

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

15

Salient features

16

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

“ Inner story . . .

17

18

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

19

20

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

“ Research . . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

21

22

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

The original idea was to make the interior cheap and efficient so that the car can be used for various purposes. The interior had to be cheap and innovative because of the low price tag. Therefore customization was another important aspect that had to be considered while designing in the Indian context. Also, the interior had to be designed in a way that it should be comfortable to both the auto rickshaw and taxi drivers.

“ Interior explorations . . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

23

“ Salient features. . .

24

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

“ Package study . . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

25

26

27

28

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

29

30

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

“ Scenario generation . . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

31

32

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

“ Interior explorations. . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

33

34

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

“ Elemento and Peel . . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

35

36

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

“ Concept Peel. . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

37

Salient features

38

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

39

40

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

41

42

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

43

44

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT

ADAYINLIFE The research paved a way to help understand the new developments and the changing lifestyle of the residents in the shortlisted cities. Now, it was time to take a peek into their 2030 lifestyle to understand their problems and needs. ‘The day in life scenarios’ were created using hypothetical characters while experimenting in the territory of practicality to create scenarios that can be perceived as achievable. The scenarios had to be distinct from each other in order to extract a wide spectrum of conclusions and had to present the city’s DNA. They would then help create a restructured design brief on the basis of which a wholesome conceptual universal design solution could be proposed. But the challenge was to construct the scenarios which would provide hints ‘for the solution’ and not ‘of the solution’. The scenarios helped develop twelve themes which were then further filtered down to one and resolved thereafter.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

45

46

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

47

48

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

49

50

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

51

52

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

53

54

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

55

56

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

57

THEINFLATABLECAR The cars body is composed of inflatable solar panels that help the car charge itself while parked and on the go. Being covered in an inflated skin the car’s body can absorb more impact in a crash incident. The experience can be enriched even further as people can play dashing cars, probably in future malls or in open areas. The side doors and the roof can be deflated for a different experience as opposed to the everyday mundane ride.

58

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 1

The body is divided into two parts by a foldable polymeric membrane, strong enough to withstand weight of four people. The seats are attached to both halves and the seating capacity increases as the chassis unfolds itself, when there is a need for more than two people to sit. The result is a probable idea that could be channelized to design a car whose size is adaptable according to the need.

59

INFLATABLEWORKSPACE For Anya to carry Avani along with her, she just has to inflate the car’s seat.

By inflating and adjusting the air pressure she can adjust the stiffness and comfort level also. The seat gets inflated through a ventricular mechanism incorporated in the design.

In the future private buses hired by companies can be empty boxes.

People will carry a small suitcase with their customized inflatable working environments, which will allow them to set up their work space anywhere, even while travelling. As a result they can finish some undue work before reaching home, preserving the continuity in thoughts and work.

People will opt for car sharing in cities like Pune. They can inflate those parts of the car’s interior which are needed and deflate the rest.

60

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 2 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

61

JUSTLEAN We always use the main roads for commuting. However, the shortest path is through the narrowest lanes that run in between the infrastructure. If we can exploit these effectively we can ease the burden on traffic and save time. People claim they stand in public transport while commuting. These ideas inspired the concept ‘LEAN’.

Using gyroscope people can lean in the direction they want to go and navigate like being on a skateboard. When in the narrowest of lanes, the seat position becomes upright, thereby compressing the vehicle width. Is this omnidirectional self-balancing vehicle a replacement for the next Segway?

62

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 3 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

63

When more and more cars flood the street; will the cars expand vertically just like buildings? Using analogy of simple and stable atomic structures, a multi deck car transport system can be designed, where cars travel with a much smaller footprint. People can detach themselves at their respective stations where the stucture would unwrap itself.

As a result multiple cars can commute with a much smaller footprint.

64

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 4 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

65

66

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 5 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

67

THEME 6 STREETCABLETRANSPORT Street lights run through the narrowest of lanes. If we can run a passenger cable system between these, people can commute from any given point to their destinations within the city itself. Equipped with a small luggage space the street cable transport will have stations at cross roads, where people can change the course of their journey.

68

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 7 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

69

Traffic is not created by the size of cars occupying the streets; but by the bottleneck created by the varying speeds at which cars travel. To solve this can we make multiple cars travel with much reduced footprint?

The simple difference between different polygonal shapes is the angle which they create with their corresponding sides. If side was treated like a unit carrying people the end result would look similar to a giant wheel. If a car is able to change its front and rear rake and is able to attach itself to other cars, a giant wheel of cars could be formed.

Power can be transferred wirelessly and multiple cars can travel with a footprint of one. The cars body can be made of strong and light materials such as Fibre Reinforced Plastic and the whole structure can disassemble itself at different stations.

70

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 8 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

71

Anand works mostly from one place. Glued to his chair he quite often gets up from his seat to stretch his back. It is observed that we switch tasks after every five minutes in our offices. If this activity can be utilised to produce energy that could be produce mobility, the product would certainly gel with our lifestyle.

Using a modified office chair fitted with a uni-wheel and a gyroscope we can roam around anywhere in the office promises without feeling the need to walk.

This chair can then be a part of your car, like the one in the ‘Social Car’ concept.

The mechanism is fairly simple, take the analogy of a manual pump and fit it . . .

72

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 9

as the stem of your office chair, and every time you sit it pumps in air which is stored in a chamber. This compressed air can then be converted into electricity using a dynamo, to run the our concept. We can also charge our seat through our electrical sockets while working, like our phone. The triangular legs are magnitized and allow other chairs to attach to yours when you desire to. So people can now travel together in food courts and other areas inside our huge corporate complexes.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

73

CONCEPTTREADMILL Let’s say when we walk, we cover a distance X; but if we walk without pet we cover a distance more than our pet. If our pet was a machine we would cover even greater distances. For example when we cycle, our one complete rotation of the paddle helps us cover a much greater distance than our leap. And as aforementioned, people claim they stand while travelling to offices anyways. So a transport system like a treadmill in which people will walk at one place, keeping them fit from obesity; and this linear motion can be amplified would be an innovative solution.

74

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 10 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

75

The way a common man reads a car unknowingly is by registering the shape of the silhouette created by the car. The genuine the silhouette the more unique the car appears; then comes the flamboyant surfacing and the intricate jewels like the headlights and other graphics. But the car as we all know is an expensive commodity, so people don’t end up buying one quite often. But if we can control the shape of the same car, we can provide a very different user experience every now and then. the shape change concept does exactly that.

76

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 11 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

77

SHAPECHANGE Working on the idea of a shape changing car, the above sketches are expressions of some of the different silhouettes the car can attend. Using aerogel, a translucent material very light in nature and an excellent air purifier, the exterior shell can be created with mechanism similar to a robotic arm. Each strip will be divided into multiple members, which can be controlled electronically like the fingers in a robotic arm through the car’s interior. The structure is assembled on a collapsible chassy, so the smaller form of the car would help solve parking issues while the greater one would serve as a vehicle for the family.

78

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 11 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

79

THEDUETSTORY When we ran out of liberty to expand horizontally, we started expanding vertically. In the near future, the density of cars on the streets will probably force us to adapt a similar path. The car is always constrained in proportions in terms of length and breadth, but not height and it has always been viewed as a single layer object. It would be a totally new experience to experiment with a double decker car, as cars in Indian cities do not clock speeds of more than eighty kilometre per hour, it would exciting to play in this dark area.

80

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

THEME 12 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

81

THEINNERSTORY INSIDEOUTAPPROACH The inspiration from the static structure of the spiral staircase which supports multiple structures on a single axis was impressive, but had to be now translated into a dynamic structure of the car. The key idea here was a new approach in carrying people with the smallest possible footprint. So the ingenuity of the concept lied in the layout in which people would sit, so an inside out approach was opted, meaning starting off with the interior design and then moving on to design the casing, which is the exterior.

82

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

83

01EXPERIMENT

The first experiment consisted of a ‘six seat layout’.

The driver would sit in his conventional position, with a passenger besides him and another passenger sitting behind bisecting the front seating position. Another three seats would be flushed in this three seat mode and on necessity will surface from their normal position to accommodate three more people.

The problem was the whole space had started looking claustrophobic and the design seemed very forced. Also the mechanism to support the weight of three people at a higher level demanded hydraulic or pneumatic system which would eat a lot of space and power. So this was not a very convincing design direction for the interior.

84

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

85

02EXPERIMENT

This was an attempt to make a ‘four seat car’ for the nuclear family. In this the driver’s seat is elevated and the passengers sit at a lower level. One of the passenger seat is oriented sideways to save space, as a result of which the whole layout now fits in a package of just two and half metres. However, this package would create problems while designing the exterior as the whole design would look more of a square than a cuboid, making it look very static.

86

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

87

03EXPERIMENT

The idea was to create a playful experience for both family and individual needs while focussing on the idea of small footprint. Here, in the everyday office mode the car boasts a seating capacity of three people, with one driver and two passengers. In the family scenario, the passenger deck next to the driver gets elevated to expose a bench seat under it, which can accommodate two people sitting in a sociopetal manner. The passenger next to the driver goes into a reclined mode to make room for the passengers below and the car can now house five people.

88

Gaurang Nagre, Diploma Project 2012 Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Diploma Project 2012 GaurangNagre, Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

89

04EXPERIMENT After contemplating on what the perfect double deck package should be, a six seat package was finalized.

Four passengers sit at a lower level facing each other in a sociopetal manner, while the driver and another passenger sit in tandem on an elevated platform at the centre of the vehicle.

The driver can easily interact with the passengers without defocussing on this driving and so can the four passengers. The package proved to be impressive as the whole layout could now be fit in a footprint of three and half metres, as small as a Chevrolet Beat, but boosting the seating capacity of a Toyota Innova. Also the elevated deck is not exactly at double the height, but is positioned at the knee level of the passengers seated below, which helps to lower down the car’s height. The whole layout is so designed that all the passengers have excellent visibility and possess individual seating, as compared to the bench seat in conventional cars that deal with the problem of shoulder conflict.

90

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

91

04EXPERIMENT

92

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

The final selected theme had the driver seat in tandem with the passenger seat. The two seats are elevated and are positioned in the middle which helps balance the car while cornering. Rest of the four passenger seats are positioned on the floor facing each other in a sociopetal fashion preserving the idea of easy interaction. The four seats are fitted on the doors and create room on the inside after opening.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

93

04

CONCEPT GROWTH

Since the car will be used for individual purpose on a daily basis, the interior had to be made modular. The front passenger seats are soft like bean bags and can be used as child seats or for pets. The driver seat is positioned at a height providing better visibility, which descends when the chassis collapse. The passenger seat which is tandem with the driver’s seat stacks up. Six people can sit in different orientations in a car which has a footprint of three metres. For family trips the vehicle would grow to accommodate six people in comfort in a footprint of three and half metres.

94

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

95

96

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

97

The interior had started looking like the one from a boxy people carrier and had to be made more playful so I started off with the layer theme itself. Taking inspiration from Zaha Hadid’s architecture, I was attempting to make the seats more organic and more humane in a way. The seats had to be sleek to create space in the interior, so the layer theme would have helped to create a depth, to give the seats a perceived thickness and strength that everyone desires. Also the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat had to be different from each other, as the driver’s seat had to stacked up with the passenger’s seat positioned in tandem.

98

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

99

04

FLUIDIC FEELING

The seats were still not coping up with the level of expectation, so I started taking inspiration from organic patterns and textures.

Patterns embossed on the seats along with its curvaceous design were coming to life. Then to make it even more visually playful, I decided to add some Houdini’s touch to it. All the passenger seats were physically attached to the doors, but each seat would seem like it is visually attached elsewhere. Every seat would be unique making the whole experience visually dynamic.

100

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

101

THECOVERSTORY

(EXTERIOR DESIGN)

The introduction of the double deck seating pattern meant that the car had become tall and now had to be visually balanced on the exterior. Cars have always looked sexier in the more conventional proportions like wide, long wheel bases and short bodies resembling super cars. But the movement we try and create something that is tall and navigate from the more appealing proportions we end up in a soup. It is also observed that the car is stationary for about ninety percent of the time, so it is also personified as a sculpture. So, form and aesthetics play a very important role while designing the car’s exterior. In our case the exterior could have been the derivative of the interior, like just a casing. However, the car is a journey from the exterior to the interior, and so they should go hand in hand to create that mood. Here lies the challenge and my attempt to resolve it.

102

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

103

INITIAL DOODLES

A designer’s perspective towards reading the grammar of a car and that of a common man are like the two distinct poles of earth. The common man looks at the detail on the car, such as the finishing and the jewels in the headlights etc. while a designer starts his journey from the very bottom of the pyramid by noticing the silhouette. I believe that the car should look good and recognizable even in the dark by just looking at its contour. When one car’s silhouette tends to encroach another’s, there is a conflict in the identity and we notice people saying “this car looks like that one, remember?” So it is the designer’s duty to make the shape intriguing and unique for it be noticeable.

104

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

So I first started off by sketching the profile of our car.

Now, since the car would be used for traveling to work and not for family trips on a daily basis, the car would mostly be in a personal mode, meaning, it can be compressed to an even more compact state by reducing its footprint. As the car would roam on the streets in this compact state quite often, it would make a lot of sense to focus on this ‘compact state’, rather than the family one. So much of my explorations revolved around this idea and the focus was solely on designing the car with a footprint sufficient to carry three people.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

105

PACKAGE STUDY The first exercise did lead to a few very interesting shapes, but now it was time to clear out the shabby, multiple lines and boil down to a more clear picture. The uniqueness of the concept was the elevated seating pattern, and the exterior was a casing for the prior. So, the intention was not just to come up with a beautiful form by challenging the constraints; but to nurture this unique seating pattern. So templates of mannequins were created with different package layouts, like the three seat mode, with the elevated seats collapsed and without, and of course the six seat matured state of the car. Sketching was then done as overlay on these templates to leave no doubts about the ergonomics of the concept.

106

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

’

Now, for all of us who thought that ‘why can’t we travel on a single piece of a motorized chair and reduce footprint?’

The answer is ‘we already do’ but we wanted a more and more powerful motor, which then took the form of an engine. We needed something to steer, and we added the steering wheel; then we needed protection, so we made a metal box around our chair that would seal and isolate it from the surroundings. In theory we still travel on a chair with all these added embellishments around it. My intention was to remove most of these add-ons using new technologies but create a car that believes in the idea of isolating the environment for practical reasons and comfort while travelling.

So although being a 2030 futuristic car I decided not to mimic the western design sensibilities but follow a more conventional yet modified car design grammar.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

107

ALL WHEELS EXPOSED The concept till now had the wheels exposed. But the car being tall, the wheels had to be huge in order to make them look proportionate.

Otherwise it would resemble the TATA Nano, ‘like a huge tall volume that is fitted on small caster wheels’. This would make the viewer’s perceive that the wheels are barely able to take the weight of the car and that they are just on the verge of crumpling if another fifty sixty kilos sits on it.

The car had to look strong enough to bear the weight of six passengers and then some; so a few experiments with the wheels had to be conducted.

ONE WHEEL CONCEALED

The wheel could not be made big for obvious reasons, as it would reduce efficiency of the car, so the first thought was to ‘conceal it’.

Concealing the wheel is like building a mystery around it, the wheel inside is of the same diameter but people don’t perceive it that way. The external casing can be designed bigger to suit the overall proportions however with the wheel being unaffected by it.

108

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

ONE WHEEL CONCEALED

Cars usually have a haunch at the back which is also termed as a broad shoulder and is this that defines the stance of the car. In the very beginning I decided to conceal one of the wheels and it was the rear one. The car did not have a shoulder line, it was only after the introduction of the rear wheel casing that some highlights could now be captured on this relief surface.

This treatment made the car look strange as the front looked mobile while the rear looked adhered to the ground.

And as a dynamic sculpture it did seem like the front wheels are dragging the paralysed rear of the car. Also the whole setup looked more like ‘apples and oranges’, as the front and rear demanded equal attention the priority in characters was lost.

ALL WHEELS CONCEALED In an attempt to balance the form and make it look homogenous, I decided to conceal both the wheels. This made the form look like a ‘giant monolith’. The casings were however made translucent, to give an indication of what is underneath. It would also make the base look a little lighter.

The hood also had an elevation on the sides, a distinct Chevrolet identity, and something that would make the boring flat surfacing of the bonnet a little interesting as it is the first surface that catches the eye.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

109

TOP

In another experiment I decided to conceal the front wheels and partially expose the rear ones. This felt a little like lifting the skirt out of curiosity to see what’s underneath. The idea sounded good, but the application resembled the design features of the ‘old Indian scooter’.

LEFT

As time was running out and I had to boil down to a neutralized design, the more suited option was that of all the wheels concealed. There was a problem however, when we decided to make polygonal shapes, no matter of how many sides ‘they all tend to look from the same family’. Then if one polygonal shape with one of its sides tapering is placed next to its twin the prior tends to dominate in size. This is an ‘optical illusion’ which is very tough to handle. As a result the rear wheel arch had to be made considerably bigger while the front had a far greater acceleration rate.

110

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

The optical illusion explained by exchanging position

FINAL DETAILS

The inclination of the front casing was aligned at the same angle as that of the character line. Although the lines were an offset of one another it did create a feeling of one continuous line. This gave us a ‘blood line’ that ran across the car diagonally and was also the longest line on the car. By emphasizing this line, we could make the car look more in length without actually changing the proportions.

No one had experimented with the character line on the wind shield before, so the lump which was no more of a functional element had to be given a character for it to persist on the car. The curves were tightened for the light to accelerate and make the huge roof slabs more dynamic.

(Right - Sketch showing the offset in the blood line)

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

111

THE GROWN - UP STATE Although designed keeping in mind the compact state, the car had to suffice the six seat capacity also.

So the drive by wire chassis is made collapsible, where in the rear deck slides to and fro to increase the interior space by half a metre. While doing so it reveals a ‘secondary character line’ on the side transparent DLO which is hidden in the compact state.

The sketch on top shows the wide opening created for the passengers to board, when the seats open along with the doors.

112

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

INGRESS - EGRESS

When the passenger seats positioned at a lower level open along with the doors they create room for the passenger to board who sits in tandem with the driver. ‘The driver on the other hand boards the car from the front’ for which the hood and the grill separate from one another. This mechanism is automated and the solves the complicated issue for ingress and egress for the driver.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

113

FINAL RENDERS 114

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

115

THE FINAL DESIGN The final design was as clear to me as it was to others. But I knew that there were a lot many hidden challenges when the whole concept had to be translated on to a three dimensional platform. Sketches are deceptive but one can’t cheat in a 3D model as the true idea of volume can only be perceived in a physical prototype. Things become very complicated, as a designer has to balance the design from every angle.

I had already worked on a few math models (digital models) before, so I along with the designers at General Motors unanimously agreed to work on a clay prototype which was a deficit in my portfolio. I was waiting for this unique experience as I could now experiment with the form and see the results instantly because of the unique ability of clay to allow the user to add and remove material with ease. This was my first experience with automotive clay, and I had to follow a few procedures, and I like procedures. Starting off with setting up a tape drawing and a tape rendering as templates for the model a brief time line for the model was jotted down. Unfortunately due to some important tasks at GM, I had to expedite on my model creation within a period of three weeks. Here’s how we did it . . .

116

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

117

Tape drawing is the art of creating sketches on large scale upright surfaces using black photographic tape. Typically used in the automotive industry, it is an important part of the automotive design process that is currently not computerized.

This style of sketching with photographic tape, called “tape drawing”, is achieved by using everyday skills of unrolling the tape with one hand and sliding the other hand along the tape while fastening it on the surface.

Designers in the automobile industry have traditionally created concept sketches of cars on large scale upright surfaces (walls) that preserve a ‘scale factor’ between the sketch and the physical car. The main reason for these full-size or scaled upright sketches is that designers and managers want to determine and evaluate the principle curves of a design as early in the design process as possible.

Tape drawing has several fundamental advantages over free form sketching with a pencil, given the large scale size of the sketches. Firstly, it is difficult to draw, freehand, straight lines and smooth continuous curves at this scale.

Physical aids such as rulers and French curves would assist the process; however, they would have to be of similar large scale which unfortunately makes them unwieldy for upright use. Drawing with tape, on the other hand, easily facilitates the generation of perfectly straight lines and, due to the slight elasticity of the tape which allows it to be deformed, smooth continuous curves as well. The freehand nature of the interaction is maintained, and yet the tape’s affordances help regulate the user’s actions to allow for creation of smooth continuous lines. In addition, tape drawing has the embellishments of easily undoing actions and editing compared to drawing with pencils or markers.

The images alongside are digitally re-created tape drawings which also represent the package and the battery layout. They were created to a 1:3 scale before the start of clay model.

118

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

(These images are digitally recreated as the originals were unavailable due to confidentiality issues)

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

119

Tape rendering is another crucial task before starting a clay model. This was my first-hand experience to understand and visualize the behaviour of light on surfaces before it being translated into a three dimensional sculpture.

The tape rendering provides a very close reference to how the car would look like in a real life environment. The highlights are clearly defined and sometimes exaggerated.

The black tapes on the sides are used to stretch the printed image as the highlights and light-lines should be presented in their full tension.

120

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

(These images are digitally recreated as the originals were unavailable due to confidentiality issues)

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

121

MODEL JOURNEY

122

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

(The entire model journey could not be covered through photographs due to strict confidential polices)

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

123

MODEL PHOTO SHOOT

A photo shoot of the Di-Noced model was done in natural light at different timings to understand the real interaction of the car with environment. One photo shoot was done at ‘dusk’ around seven in the evening while the other was done at ‘dawn’ at six thirty in the morning. The photo shoot done in the evening revealed a bluish shade on the model while the one in the morning casted warm tints on the Di-Noced surfaces. The shoot was done using professional equipment such as a Canon D-90 DSLR camera and a tripod; however no artificial lights were used.

124

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

(Photo of the model shot at dusk, at about seven in the evening)

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

125

MODEL PHOTO SHOOT These photographs are results of the photo shoot done at dawn and are later on edited to remove the glassy reflections off the mirror. The results do not demonstrate how the actual car would look in a real time environment as there are no flanges or details in the headlights or any graphics of that sort. But it does serve as an excellent volume study exercise which helps understand the interaction between light and surfaces.

126

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

(Photo of the model shot at dawn, at about six thirty in the morning)

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

127

MATH MODEL

The clay model was the first step in understanding the volume. The material had its own limitations and so details could not be incorporated due to time constraints. But my journey however did not stop there. I was always motivated by the works of design students from across the globe and admired the detailing and finishes their models showcased, the time they invested and the benchmark they set. I decided to construct a ‘Math Model’ of the exterior in a tight time span of one month, which would help me represent a clearer picture of my design.

The image that I had projected in my mind was quite bold according to my modelling skills; but with core concepts clear enough, I just hurled for it. To avoid turmoil I decided to parent a mentor. The next few pages showcase a few major challenges that I faced with the math model and the final result.

128

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

129

READY TO RENDER

The final model was checked for surface continuities and breakages. We tried to establish ‘G3 Continuity’ as much as possible and a ‘Zebra Analysis’ was done; but a few fillets and small surfaces could not be resolved further. Parting lines and shut lines were added later on. Once the model was ready, a few details such as the chrome strip on the side DLO (Day Light Opening) were added before the car was ready to receive the Chevrolet badge of honour. The model was then ready for render.

130

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

FINAL TOUCH - UPS

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

131

132

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

DIGITAL RENDERS

The alias model was then rendered in Keyshot 3.0 with studio lighting and environments to get a much more realistic vision of the concept. The renders were later edited in photoshop CS5.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

133

134

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

135

136

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

261

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

137

138

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

139

140

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

“ The natural car . . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

141

142

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Carry the sledge on your back and back pack on it or attach the skies and the body for a sporty experience. Lie on your back or belly and enjoy the ride in different postures. 3ILL allows you to customize your ride, so carry what you really want.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

143

A quick experiment after getting a jest of Renault’s new design grammar of organic folds a few sketches of the next generation Dezir were created. The language resembles folds that could be obtained by draping a car with cloth and then freezing the draped surface.

144

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

145

146

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

147

148

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

149

150

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

151

152

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

I do not always believe in the act of form follows function; but in product design I give more weightage to the functionality aspect as compared to my car design counterpart. As a product designer I like to think in detail about user experience and resolving problems rather than creating a beautiful artefact.

Most of my inspiration comes from nature which you will experience in the following pages, hope you enjoy them . . .

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

153

The Nirlep gas stove design was an award winning concept done in the third semester.

The design provided freedom to orient the burners according to the kitchen platform, thus providing a flexible footprint. It is a three burner gas stove with an inbuilt hot plate.

154

155

156

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

The portable foam cutter was a six sixth semester project under the technically complex project category. The thought was to design a hot wire foam cutter for developing intricate forms and hollow shapes. Current cutters do not provide the freedom for designers and prototypers to develop forms which include cavities. The design is provided with different attachments, for e.g. the needle and the arch.

The needle attachment allows detailing whereas the arch allows the user to develop forms with circular shapes and allows big chunks of foam to be chopped off. The cutter rests on a doc which houses the transformer and the electric cable which can be wound and suspended on the doc itself.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

157

158

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Nature and form was a fifth semester project where in a product had to be designed on the basis of three guidelines.

1. Morphosis 2. Bio-mimicry 3.

Form follows function I decided to work on bio-mimicry. The natural inspiration was derived from the puffing mechanism of the puffer fish which then inspired the design of the mountaineering glove.

The puffing mechanism avoids sweaty hands and thus providing a better grip over the rocky terrain.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

159

The 72 hour survival kit design was a short project done at RMIT during my stay in Australia. The project was sponsored by WACOM and the idea was to design a survival kit that will help a person endure a minimum of seventy two hours in a calamity situation.

The concept is a very light weight backpack which houses a sleeping mattress, a detachable bamboo knitted stool, an induction tiffin box, a water collector that purifies water, a torch, a water collector that collects and purifies rain water and space to keep a few more important items like clothes and personal belongings.

160

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

161

The movement of the stylus is co-ordinated with the movement of the cursor on the screen. The information from the screen is expressed through the speaker. Character recognition is achieved through extruded pixels that act like solenoids which get arranged according to the levels of the image on the screen. The screen now allows blind people to touch, feel and thus understand images.

162

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

The dental chair was part of the alias tutorial and one of my first models done in alias studio tools. The concept then went on to win the Product Design Detailing Award sponsored by General Motors.

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

163

P

H

O

T

O

G

R

A

P

H

Y

Photography has been one of my most engaging activities over the years. It has helped me to develop a better sense of composition, colour and capturing the mood and then expressing it through a photograph. These are some of the photographs shot on the theme ‘spiritual’. They were clicked on an SLR.

164

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

165

166

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

167

A

R

T

W

O

R

K

I have been fascinated by the variety in nature since a very tender age. Animals and birds display a variety in proportions, colours, traits and behaviour which is far more interesting and not repetitive unlike human beings. Sketching and painting animals improved my sense of proportion and eye for detail while sketching cars rectified my understanding of perspective. Here are a few clicks of some of the works that I had exhibited in the art galleries of Mumbai. The paintings are done in a wide spectrum of media like watercolour, oil, pastels etc.

168

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

gaurang nagre Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

169

170

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

gaurang nagre Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012

171

172

Gaurang Nagre | Portfolio | 2012