PORT FOL IO
KTM Ryoken BAMBOO Reed YAMAHA Moto-E Concept DEUTSCHE BAHN Quietsmart NISSAN GT-R Form Study Personal Projects
CONTENTS
KTM Ryoken
BRIEF The dream of making my own motorcycle started at the age of 13. Hard work, dedication, perseverence and 10 long years has resulted in my childhood dream to come true, in the form of this concept, RYOKEN. The inspiration for this concept comes from the word RYOKEN, which in japanese means hunting dog. Compact, nimble and ready to attack. I chose the KTM Duke as the base for this project due to its compact build and ballistic performance. It gave me the freedom to work around its potent chassis yet restraining me in certain areas to maintain the insane power-to-weight ratio.
FORM IDEATION PERSONA Ryan McGregor, 21 Biker Gang Leader Egotistical and Rebellious
MOODBOARD
ITERATIONS (FINAL DESIGN DIRECTION)
FABRICATION The process I used was different from the traditional way of fabrication. This method helped me learn a lot by going back and forth in the design process while considering the engineering aspects at every step. It gave me more freedom to ideate while working. I used an alloy of Aluminium and Chromium as the core material which offered a great deal of ease with the bending and welding processes. Each panel was made by welding pieces of this alloy cut into respective shapes. Although it was a time consuming process, the fabrication helped me visualise quickly and work efficiently with the material.
PAINT I learnt that in the art of automotive painting one has to have a keen eye for detail and immense patience. I had to work on the surface finish to get the panels paint-ready. Since the panels were hand-made, the symmetry of the surfaces had to be brought by hand with the help of the experts at Grounddesigns, Pune, India. The color of choice was Anthracite Grey, a subtle shade which showcases the dynamic body form of the motorcycle. The forks were zinc anodized rather than painted, to give that gold shade. I used Standox Automotive Paints from Germany as they are the pioneers in automotive paint. This paint maintains a good balance between gloss and metallic finish in this specific shade.
ASSEMBLY I planned the whole build of the motorcycle as a bolt-on kit which allowed me to easily swap the body panels with the stock ones when necessary without tinkering with the chassis. This kit allowed me to further work on the design and make many more such prototypes on the same chassis and powertrain. Thus acting as a modular architecture for my future concepts. I would also like to market this kit eventually for fellow KTM Duke owners who would like to upgrade the appearance of their motorcycle and experience a different motorcycle alltogether.
“ITS COMPLETE ONLY WHEN YOU MAKE IT”
BAMBOO Reed
BRIEF “A hand-crafted, aesthetic bicycle, for the urban market made using natural material�.
RESEARCH WHY BAMBOO? SUSTAINABILITY : Bamboo is an endlessly renewable resource. The fastest growing plant on Earth, it can be harvested every 3-7 years without any negative impact on the plant. STRENGTH : Bamboo’s unique structural properties give it a higher tensile strength than any traditional hardwood and even many alloys of steel. BEAUTY : Bamboo’s natural aesthetic and beautifully subtle variances in grain allows it to transform yards, enhance landscapes, and add a unique tropical or rustic touch to any design.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO • Higher tensile strength than many alloys of steel • Higher compressive strength than many mixtures of concrete • Higher strength-to-weight ratio than graphite
BAMBOO RESOURCE OF INDIA India is the second richest country in the world in terms of genetic resources with 13.96 million Hectares area under Bamboo plantation.
ADVANTAGES OF BAMBOO
15% - 20% 10% - 15% 5% - 10% 0 - 5% Area under cultivation
• Beautiful, has strong sculptural quality • Exotic, tropical or Asian appeal • Grows fast and acts as a tall visual screen • Multitude of species and pruning choices for great variety of effect • Vertical growth minimizes its footprint, especially useful for smaller, urban locations • Movement of the culms creates musical rustling sounds • It adds one of the highest amount of oxygen into the atmosphere compared to any other plant
PERSONA Rakesh is a senior software engineer who works for a leading multinational company. His work means that he has to work under a lot of stress, both during and off work. He enjoys solitude with nature, breaking away from his busy urban life.
Rakesh Patel, 32 Senior Software Engineer Married
DESIGN Inspired from Sandeep Sangaru’s Bamboo Furniture design “Truss Me”, a combination of contemporary design and traditional method of bamboo crafting, used by artisans of Tripura.
TECHNIQUE Bamboo is different from other materials. It is hollow and has no xylem, while its fiber and stem are very hard and grow in parallel form. Therefore, the tools and techniques employed in bamboo furniture production are unique. The tools include: thin blade saw, chopper, inclined knife, chisel, arch sharpener, bamboo straightening stand, wooden hammer, working stool, working station, bamboo ruler, electric driller, flame gun, rope, whetstone, and so on.
FORM IDEATION
IDEATION
FINAL DESIGN DIRECTION
DEVELOPMENT Traditional methods of working with bamboo is a tedious process. The steps followed are: 1) Picking bamboo, removing the knots, drying, and preserving; 2) Cutting, sawing, heating, bending, gluing, assembling and nailing; 3) finishing, such as polishing to make it weather proof..
YAMAHA Moto-E Concept (Ongoing Project)
PERSONA Kevin Windham is an American former professional motocross racer. At 17 he received a full factory ride from Team Yamaha. He holds several titles, and lists his hobbies as “anything outdoors�. Post-Retirement, he is engrossed in nurturing new talents and experimenting new technologies to push the limits on two wheels .
Kevin Windham, 40 Pro Motocross Rider United States of America
MOODBOARD Inspired from forms depicting lightness and integration, the design seeks to be sleek and extremely agile to provide the rider with maximum response and control to maneuver the bike freely.
STYLING BOARD The surface treatment showcases the smooth exterior while also exposing the mechatronic underpinning of the electric motorcycle. It is inspired from humaniod machines, which bridge the gap between man and machine. A sense of belonging to the rider by acting as the mechanical limbs to propel forward.
FORM IDEATION
ITERATION 1
Inspired from the mere definition of a supermoto, lightness and compact, the form is sharp and minimal to provide the rider with better control to maneuver the bike freely.
ITERATION 2
DEUTSCHE BAHN Quietsmart
OBJECTIVE To visualize a futuristic workspace that will enhance the experience of the employees and help increase the productivity at Deutsche Bahn.
What did I do? 1. Setting goals
6. Building Personas
2. Interviews
7. Design Brief
3. Gather user data
8. Conceptualization
4. Secondary Research
9. Evolve Concept into design solution
5. User Scenarios
10. Evaluate design with stakeholders
What is Deutsche Bahn? Deutsche Bahn AG’ (abbreviated as DB, DB AG or DBAG) is a German railway company, Headquartered in Berlin. More than 320,000 people work for the DB Group worldwide. In Germany, the DB Group is one of the largest employers with almost 198,000 employees.
Who are the employees? There are various departments at DB such as infrastructure, passenger traffic, Digitalization and Technology, Freight and Logistics etc, that function together at different levels in the building.
What I want to learn? Gain knowledge of the users, context, technologies
What I want to Explore? Build user profiles, application of knowledge, task flows, user journeys and scenarios
What I want to Develop? Create design specifications, evolve concepts, refine design based on feedback
What is the goal for DB for it’s employees? To bring economic, social and environmental dimensions into harmony.
What I want to Deliver? Complete design concept with all necessary specifications
PROJECT FOCUS
INITIAL CONCEPTS
UIETSMART
The idea was to provide a personal space in an Open-Space Layout. This space can be created anywhere in the office and can be udes for conversations, from formal meetings to just a personal call. Sound intrusion into the space can be controlled to reduce the noise as well as make it a silent space for creative work.
It is a system that enhances communication, creativity & productivity within the company. It consists of a dynamic ceiling, an app and smart furniture.
NOISE ABSORBTION TILE
MOBILE APP
SMART FURNITURE
FINAL CONCEPT
Enhanced Personal Time
Noise-free
Interactive Data
Secure Data
Easy Connections
Selective Isolation
More User control
Better ergonomic conditions
NISSAN GT-R Form Study
NISSAN GT-R The GT-R is one of the lengendary cars of all time and the pride of Japan. It’s nickname Godzilla, coined by Australian Car Magazine ‘Wheels’ way back in ‘89 was the one that intriguied me. Rather than specifing onto a single model, I chose to extract the esscense of the legacy known as the GT-R. It was quite exciting and challenging to understand the past, present and predict the future for this legend. The vision allows me to peek into the near future of this legend showcasing its evolution over the years. The GT-R exhibits long crisp lines and large volumes of visual mass in its form and stance which were my primary inspirations and hopefully these have found their way into the final form in clay.
MOODBOARD Inspired by bold forms depicting strength and speed, the design seeks to be sleek and fluidic while taking cues from the design philosophy of the Nissan GT-R over the past 49 years.
FAST
BOLD
STRONG
FORM IDEATION
FINAL MODEL
Personal Projects
#Bugatti_Truck_Design_Challenge (Instagram Competition) The brief was to visualize what would a Bugatti Truck look like. Since Bugatti is all about speed and breaking records, I chose to design my truck to break the current land speed record held by the Iron Knight by Volvo.
NIKE Smartwatch
The watch with no face. Powered by a compact close proximity projector that displays the time directly onto your wrist, choose how your watch face looks like. Classic, Chronoghraph, Digital, Square, Round, or any shape, it adapts to your needs.
Adidas LEVIT8 Sneakers The brand with the three stripes. Using the iconic logo as an inspiration, I visualized the form of the sneaker keeping it as the main design element. The inner sole is always suspended above the ground and rests on just the two strpes for its base, thus it’s name Levit8 (Levit-ate).
#Chair_Design_Challenge (Instagram Competition)
Inspired by my grandfather’s folding chair, this chair is a modern take on the iconic form combining both natural and man-made materials. Aluminium frame and the cloth made from jute fibers, making this product 100% recyclable.
CONTACT
Nikhil Balaji Rajagopalan Mail: r.nikhil.balaji@gmail.com Phone: +91 8554945791 Behance: be.net/nikhilbalaji LinkedIn: nikhil-balaji-rajagopalan Skype: nikhil25594
Thank you for your time!