design

Honda Z600

Posted on by Medina Davide

This is my design for a new model of the stylish Honda Z600. The Z600 was a micro car manufactured between 1970 and 1974, celebrated for its quirky “sporty” design and compact dimensions. Often nicknamed the “water goggles” or “TV-set” due to the thick black plastic bezel surrounding its rear glass hatch, it was powered by a high-revving 598cc air-cooled, two-cylinder engine derived from Honda’s motorcycle expertise. Despite its diminutive size, measuring just 123 inches long and weighing approximately 1,300 pounds, it could reach top speeds of roughly 75-80 mph and achieved an impressive 40-50 mpg. Marketed as a fun, efficient city car, the Z600 played a pivotal in establishing Honda’s automotive presence in the U.S. and Europe.

The Trabant saga

Posted on by Medina Davide

Joke of the day: if we add the third volume (third box) to a Mini, we almost get a modern version of the Trabant 601. Vertical tail lights with chrome frames, horizontal well defined shoulder line, rear window almost touching side windows, smooth sides with no moldings.

Human friendly cars

Posted on by Medina Davide

A more livable car interior

Cars are getting bigger and bulkier on the outside but darker and more claustrophobic on the inside. Smaller windows, gloomy grayish shades. Safety during crashes played a role in this transformation and, of course, there are structural constraints to consider while designing the passenger compartment. Still we can make the atmosphere more convivial, remember the 1984 Renault Espace? That was great.

A 4-wheel Yamaha Niken?

Posted on by Medina Davide

A 4-wheel Yamaha Niken 900

To be honest I truly like the Yamaha Niken 900, the GT with side bags and a proper windshield makes even more sense, since the bike is definitely not a supersport or a race replica. Now image an off-road version of it and make it like a quad, with four wheels. Isn’t it cool? It’s basically a Niken ATV.

What’s a Caprese?

Posted on by Medina Davide

My interpretation of an exclusive caprese taxi.

You might know the Caprese salad or the Capri Sun Juice (that’s not juice) or Ford Capri. No, I’m referring to a niche in the niche, a ‘caprese taxi’ is a custom built convertible taxi that only exists in Capri, Italy. It’s not just a cabriolet, otherwise it would simply be called an ‘open top taxi’. It must have 4 doors, two or three comfortable rows of seats and when the top is open passengers can watch the panorama from a 360 degrees POV. A convertible cab is already cool, a Caprese is top. The base to build a Caprese taxi is always a sedan or a minivan with room for people and luggage of course. To be fairly honest, their design is not exactly the apex of Italian design but the main character in Capri is the view from the car, not the car.

A new adventure in art

Posted on by Medina Davide

I am relatively new to drawing characters, cartoons and portraits. I did product design my entire life therefore I still find somehow difficult to approach faces. Not only there are proportions to respect but expressions are important as well. What makes a character interesting is the feeling conveyed: anger, happiness, sadness and how good is the artist in doing it. I have to admit I am still a rookie trying to learn as much as possible from others, nonetheless I’m getting truly involved into it. Drawing something animated is a complete new adventure for professionals like me used to create lifeless things. Yes, an object can move too, like a car or a plane, but the difference doesn’t reside in motion. The difference between things and people is that with people there’s always a story behind them, a story recounted by the expression on their faces. Try to sketch quickly a face on a piece of paper, do it now; you’ll immediately notice that there’s no way to make it devoid of emotions. No matter how bad your drawing can be (like mine) you will always stamp an expression on it and a general feeling to the character. That is his/her personal story and it’s what’s lacking in objects.

Applying white chalk on Pantone for a mixed effect. Remember, don’t do viceversa (Pantone on chalk) or the tip is gone for good.
#drawing #sketching #art #design #inking

Let creativity loose

Posted on by Medina Davide

This drawing is at least 10 years old, it was my first time trying to make a trench (or something vaguely similar) so I thought “let’s make something unseen, something eye-catching”. When approaching a new task, or should we say challenge, we designers have to go big, to think outside the box. Trying to make something as commercial as possible would be the worst error: we’re not marketing guys, we are the ones breaking the rules, we are the professionals leaving other professionals jaw dropped. We are entitled to raise perplexity and confusion in viewers’ minds, it’s a designer’s duty to deliver something unexpected and unestablishing, close to a punch out of the blue. So this is my idea for a trench, as weird as I could conceive it.