Re: A competition for the inventive types

On Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:12:36 -0500, vey <junker@xxxxxxxxxxx> may have
said:

http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/11

[snip]
This competition calls for a biking accessory or add-on for existing
bikes that would improve the bicycling experience and encourage more
people to make biking their primary means of transport ? more
convenient, more enjoyable, safer and more integrated into daily
lifestyles ? whether it's for commuting, working, shopping,
transporting, leisure or all of the above. In your description, you
should define the user scenario and design problem that your design
attempts to solve.

So, one would logically start with looking at the major cycling areas
that are regarded as dysfunctional by the non-cyclist; here's a
non-exhaustive list to start from:

1. It's more work than driving or riding a bus or other powered
transport.
2. Weather issues; too cold, too hot, too wet, etc.
3. Not fast enough over moderate or long distances.
4. Unsafe due to crazy motorists.
5. Bikes get stolen too easily.
6. Bikes are uncomfortable.
7. Many routes are closed to bikes.
8. Many destinations have no provision for safe bike parking.
9. Unfashionable attire requirements.
10. Lack of useful cargo weight/volume capacity.
11. Inconvenient and insecure cargo attachment/carrying facilities.
12. Helmet hair.
13. Lighting options are poor and/or expensive.

That initial list reveals few opportunities for anything that will
make a meaningful dent in the probelm, IMO. Perhaps someone will
prove me wrong; I certainly won't complain if I'm made to look like a
fool for being a trifle cynical.

You cannot enter any design that already exists on the market or has
been put into commercial production, or that you do not own the rights to.

Well, there goes 100+ years of innovations right at the start; are
they going to do exhaustive patent searches to make sure that their
new ideas aren't old ones re-cycled, as it were? This is, after all,
an area in which considerable effort has previously been invested.

Note: The submission and announcement deadlines may be subject to change.

It will be interesting to see if the initial period produces many
entries.

Judging Criteria

Judging criteria specific to this competition are:

Overall effectiveness: How well does the solution provide an answer to
the design problem?

Creativity: How innovative and cost-effective is the thinking behind the
design?

Practicality: How successfully can the design be produced or put into
practice? Can it be adapted for local production? Does it add to the
safety of the cyclist, too?

Aesthetics: How strong is the design in terms of overall form and
presentation?

Ecology: How well does the design respond to environmental concerns
through considerations such as choice of materials, production
techniques, life-span, upgrade, durability, weight, recycle, or re-use
factors?
Prizes

1st prize: $5000

2nd prize: $3000

3rd prize: $1500

Most Popular prize: $500

Not much of an incentive there; that's chicken feed in the world of
real invention. I smell a science fair atmosphere building.

Jury

Wendy Brawer (USA): An eco-designer, public educator and director, Wendy
E. Brawer is best known as creator of NYC?s Green Apple Map and as
Founding Director of the local-global Green Map System. In addition to
producing maps and related websites (GreenMap.org, GreenAppleMap.org),
books, exhibits and presentations, Wendy has taught, spoken and written
on eco-design internationally since 1990. Her diverse projects for Times
Square, Liberty Science Center, and others have promoted renewable
energy and highlighted waste reduction. She was named Woman of Earth
2005, Designer in Residence at Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design
Museum in 1997 and chaired the IDSA EcoCommittee in the mid-90s, as seen
at EcoCultural.info.

Emiliano Godoy (Mexico): Emiliano Godoy attended the Pratt Institute's
graduate program (New York, 2004) and has a BA degree in industrial
design from Universidad Iberoamericana (Mexico City, 1997) and furniture
design studies from the Danish Design School (2003). He runs the design
firm Godoylab, and is the Design Director of the furniture manufacturer
Pirwi . He teaches industrial design at the Instituto Tecnológico y de
Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM, and has thought design at
UNAM's Centre for Industrial Design Research, the Universidad
Iberoamericana and the Pratt Institute. He is a staff editor of the
quarterly architecture and design magazine Arquine, is part of the
design collective NEL, as well as a member of the Advisory Board of
DESIGN 21: Social Design Network.

Jens Martin Skibsted (Denmark): Jens Martin Skibsted has founded and
co-founded several companies, among them the world-renowned bike company
Biomega, Actics, an ethical consultancy and the creative agency Skibsted
Ideation. As Creative Director he has worked with some of the world?s
leading designers such as Marc Newson, Ross Lovegrove and Karim Rashid
and helped position a number of brands. He has designed a series of
award-winning bikes for Biomega and is a select designer for Puma
alongside the likes of Philippe Starck and Alexander McQueen. He has won
the Wallpaper* best bike category and the I.D. Design Distinction for
consumer products. He is the first Dane to be featured on the I.D. 40
list and Taschen?s Design Now. His latest bicycle was acquired for the
permanent SFMOMA and MoMA collections.

More judges to be announced.

Okay, it looks like we have a trio of quirkists who probably have
actually come up with some stuff of their own that's both interesting
and useful, so at least they might have both the open minds to look at
an idea without brushing it off, and perhaps the practical knowledge
of the limits of materials that will allow them to recognize a truly
hopeless concept right away.

I do not envy them their task. If the submissions resemble what I'd
expect, it will be like reading the slush pile at Tor Books.

With prizes this low, and a subject that's been mined so heavily in
the past, I suspect that more than a trivial number of the entries
will resemble submissions to a Chindogu contest. It will be
interesting to follow in any event, and who knows? The killer
application might well be lurking.


--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Huangs Sevens (was: Re: Landis aerobars)
    ... had to do was change the bikes to V-brakes on the rear wheel. ... only an on-bike power meter is going to be ... all you end up with is yet another subjective opinion. ... a poor experimental design. ...
    (rec.bicycles.racing)
  • Re: Blur LT vs Intense 5.5 EVP?
    ... > a well designed and well built frame, ... > They are a marketing and design company, ... > I'm not sure how many places their bikes have been manufactured (Reco ... Paying $1500+ for a frame of antiquated design and average ...
    (alt.mountain-bike)
  • Re: And away we go!
    ... If the question was, were the tracks designed to maximize the use of 200+hp, then the answer on Barber would likely be "no", but that wasn't the question. ... Making a track without a long straight probably makes it safer for very high horse bikes, it's the extreme top speeds that are part of the perceived safety problem. ... My understanding is that the design of the track is a product of the land Barber owned there and what could be fit onto it. ...
    (rec.motorcycles.racing)
  • Re: Classic Touring Frames
    ... The frame is 67cm. ... These other bikes were made from pricier tubing, ... appreciated the design differences enough to kick down the extra $$, ... Japanese bikes of the time. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: Classic Japanese Bikes
    ... 1970s bikes, it's a lot easier to find stuff than you'd think. ... Newer engine designs tend to make things integral so that, ... if the designers didn't think it worthwhile to design it to ... being rebuilt and maintained forever as 'classics'. ...
    (rec.motorcycles)