BRIEF:
THIS IS OUR FINAL PROJECT FOR THE YEAR, AND IT IS OUR EXAM PROJECT. WE ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE AN ELECTRIC CAR OUT OF VAC-FORMED ABS PLASTIC AND THE PATTERN IS TO BE MADE FROM FOAM. THE CAR HAS TO BE AFRO-FUTURISTIC, BUT INSPIRED BY YOUR TAKE ON AFROFUTURISM AND HOW ELECTRIC CARS CAN APPLY TO AFRICA CONSIDERING THAT NO ELECTRIC CARS HAVE BEEN MANUFACTURED IN AFRICA, LET ALONE A CAR. MY AIM IS TO DESIGN A CAR FROM AN AFRICAN POINT OF VIEW ABOUT AFROFUTURISM, AND NOT FROM THAT OF AN AMERICAN/EUROPEAN DEFINITION OF IT.
MOODBOARD:
MY PERSPECTIVE OF AFRICAN DESIGN: MY MOODBOARD IS INSPIRED BY AFRICAN LUXURY, BOTH IN ANCIENT TIMES AND IN MODERN SOCIETY, AS WELL AS THE BIG FIVE AND BIOMIMICRY TEXTURES. REPRESENTING ANCIENT LUXURY, I AM LOOKING AT COWRIE SHELLS BECAUSE THEY WERE USED AS CURRENCY LONG AGO. AND REPRESENTING MODERN LUXURY I AM LOOKING AT GOLD AND LEATHER. THE BIG FIVE AND HORNS IS TO REPRESENT PHYSICAL STRENGTH AND AGGRESION. THE COLOURS I WILL BE LOOKING AT ARE IN THE PALETTE BELOW.
PRECEDENT BOARD:
UPDATED PRECEDENT BOARD:
UNLIKE THE FIRST PRECEDENT BOARD, I DECIDED TO LOOK AT CARS THAT HAVE A PARTICULAR FORM THAT I WANT, WHICH IS SPHERICAL TO STYLISTICALLY MIMIC THE SHAPE OF A COWRIE SHELL. THE MAIN AIM I WAS GOING FOR IS A FORM THAT IS BOTH COMPLEX, YET MINIMAL.
COMPLEX FORMS BOARD:
THE FORMS THAT I AM INSPIRED BY ARE VERY MINIMALIST, YET CONSISTING OF EITHER ORGANIC OR GEOMETRIC FORMS.
IDEATION SKETCHES:
3 CONCEPTS:
THE FIRST CONCEPT IS CALLED "TAI", WHICH IS EAGLE IN SWAHILI AND IT REPRESENTS THE SPEED AND FIERCENESS OF THE CAR, SIMILAR TO CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EAGLE. THE SECOND CONCEPT IS CALLED "ANASA", WHICH IS ALSO SWAHILI AND MEANS LUXURY. THIS IS TO STATE THAT THE CAR IS A LUXURY TWO-SEATER USED FOR LUXURY PURPOSES. THE THIRD CONCEPT IS CALLED "LENAKA", WHICH MEANS HORN IN SOTHO. IT REPRESENTS THE STRENGTH THAT A HORN HAS AND HOW IS CAN BE PERCIEVED AS A WEAPON USED TO FIGHT PREDATORS.
FINAL CONCEPT: ROUGH SKETCH
FINAL SKETCH PRESENTATION:
I HAD TO MAKE CHANGES TO MY FIBAL CONCEPT IN ORDER TO ACCOMODATE THE TOLERANCE OF THE CHASSIS, AS WELL AS THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS, HENCE THE TAPERED SIDES OF THE CAR.
PROCESS IMAGES (FOAM PATTERN):
VACUUM FORMING:
LINE-BENDING (METAL SHEET COMPONENT):
RIM DESIGN:
DETAIL PATTERN:
BECAUSE MY DESIGN IS INSPIRED BY AFRICAN LUXURY/WEALTH AND ROYALTY, I CHOSE ROYAL BLUE AS MY MAIN COLOUR, AS SHOWN IN MY MOODBOARD. THE GEOMETRIC PATTERN IS INSPIRED BY THE DIAMOND SHAPE BUT BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT IT TO LOOK LITERAL, I DECONSTRUCTED IT INTO DIFFERENT SHAPES THAT MADE UPTHE DIAMOND FORM. THE BEIGE TRIANGLES WAS ACHIEVED BY FIRST PAINTING THE SURFACE BEIGE THEN COVERING IT IN TRIANGLE TAPE, BEFORE A SECOND LAYER OF ROYAL BLUE PAINT. ONCE DRY, I PEELED OFF THE TAPE. AND THE GOLD DETAIL WAS HAND PAINTED WITH ACRYLIC.
ELECTRONICS:
OUTCOME:
