Category Archives: Design

Computer generated 3D animation has become so commonplace that it’s easy to forget just how difficult it is to work in this medium. But beyond the challenges of producing content in this digital medium, you’ve got to have some nugget of a good story. In this case, it’s a robot battle royale. Hat’s off to its creator and thanks for sharing!

Sol Sender, from VSA Partners, takes us on a tour of the thinking, the process, and the runners up in designing the logo for what is easily the biggest brand of 2008. If you’re not familiar with identity work, it’s not easy, but it’s fun. Although I can’t imagine working on something with this much on the line. Seeing all the different iterations of the campaign logo is not only fascinating, it’s a great windo into the creative process of people at the top of my industry.

The small car segment in America is in quite a state of flux right now. Used to be that compact cars were as unequipped as they were unsafe. The concept of a premium or even a luxury small car in America was completely foreign. More accurately, it was european. But in the last few years, the segment has really expanded. The BMW-bred MINI reboot in 1999 and the introduction of the Cooper to the US in 2001 marked a turning point in the segment. Here was the smallest production car available in the market, and not only was it efficient and safe, it was sporty and nice.

The MINI Cooper S and the Clubman followed, but more interestingly, the small car offerings in the US market at large got much better. The premium small car market since then has only really seen the introduction of the Volvo C30 and later the 1-series BMW. Premium small cars aside, the regular small cars available in the US simply got nicer by default. A great example of this is Scion’s redesigned 2008 xB. My wife just recently leased one to replace her petrol-chugging pickup truck, and we both really like it.

This is hardly timely, but I wanted to capture my thoughts on riding my Vespa GT-200 for the first time.

It’s a strange thing how for a lot of scooters and motorcycles, the first time you ride it isn’t unitl after you buy it. I get it. Motorbikes require a minimum amount of riding experience and skill to operate at a basic level. You can’t just turn motorcycles and scooters over to people willy nilly. It makes a purchase decision difficult, however. In my case, I was coming from a scooter that I loved when I bought it, but came to hate because of the seating position — something that didn’t crop up until I started taking longer rides. Would the Vespa be better? Would it handle worth a damn? Would the brakes get the thing stopped in a controlled way? The best I could do was talk to people who owned GTs, read the online reviews, and trust the advice of the folks I’ve come know so well at Scooterville.

Minnesota Public Radio is easily the best NPR affiliate I’ve ever listened to. Not only is their schedule of NPR, PRI, BBC, CBC and in-studio programming superb, they offer three distinct listening options — MPR News, MPR Classical, and The Current. This avoids the trap so many NPR stations fall into where they schedule 3-4 hours of news or discussion during the day and fill the rest with classical music or jazz. I also have to give MPR credit for having one of the least annoying pledge drives in all of public broadcasting. Rather than harp on and on about specific numbers, they’ve learned that people are going to give what they give. So instead of asking for specific pledge amounts, Minnesota Public Radio does a member drive. They set goals on the number of contributing members they’ll add to their ranks at each drive, regardless of what each member gives. This drive, they’ll be adding me. Not that NPR doesn’t already deserve my financial support, but this app is above and beyond.

Special thanks to db and Gabe for the nod. I’m a big fan of the site.

MotoringFile R60 Analysis: Nathaniel Salzman

Todd, db, and special guest Michael Babischkin took some time to talk about the MINI Crossover Concept and gave a very kind mention of my analysis from last week. Thanks, gentlemen. Their discussion of the concept turned out to be very interesting, which is no surprise. WRR is always a fine program worth a listen. db’s comparison to the Infinity FX on looks and Todd’s likening to the Scion xA/xD on concept were very good observations. Likewise the comparison to the Subaru Outback is a really good analog to what this car will end up being, I think. The Outback has a very loyal fan base, so something similar in a smaller package could really be a big hit.

Regular readers of MotoringFile learned ages ago that MINI is developing an SAV (sports activity vehicle) for the 2011 model year. The news broke yesterday about MINI’s new Crossover Concept car, which will give us a good window into what to expect in late 2010 debut of the Crossman Countryman factory car. BMW and MINI generally follow a pattern of releasing concept cars about 18-24 months before releasing a factory model based on that concept. The Crossman, known internally as the R60, will reportedly be a shared platform between BMW’s X1 (the 1-series baby brother to their X3 and X5 SAVs) and MINIs Clubman wagon variant of its iconic Cooper hatchback. Expected features include four doors, all-wheel drive, and possibly even an ultra-efficient diesel engine option. Reports from MINI are that the AWD system will not be a sport-tuned symmetrical system akin to the Subaru WRX, but rather an as-needed system to assist in low-traction situations. I don’t think anyone expects this “soft roader” to be suited for anything more adventurous than Midwestern pothole dodging, but that extra level of traction appeals to an ever-growing number of car buyers, especially those of us with real winters.