Consumer / ES20

A modernist electric scooter solving the first-and-last-mile problem

This project is the result of the course Graphic Language of Products for the MSc Industrial Design Engineering at the University of Twente. This project was carried out by a team of four MSc IDE students. My role involved carrying out the Design Format Analysis, designing the product and creating the CAD model in SolidWorks. I also participated in the manufacturing of the physical prototype.

The electric scooter was selected as the product to develop due to the global, sustainable, transition to electric vehicles.

The graphic language of products

Products should have a clear visible language of form in order for consumers to recognize the brand. This project involved designing a product outside the selected company's normal product range. We selected Braun for the focus of this project. As a team we admired the company’s design principles. We focused on the Dieter Rams era of Braun. Dieter Rams was the head of design at Braun from 1961—1995.

Designing for Visual Brand Recognition

A Design Format Analysis (Karjalainen, T. M., 2007) was conducted to identify distinctive and recuring 2D, 2.5D & 3D design cues in Dieter Ram's portfolio of products. The RT20 Radio pictured below was determined to be the most typical product from the catalogue.

Form follows function

The 3D Exploration involved investigating different forms for the scooter. All forms featured strong geometric shapes which speak to the functionalist values of Braun.

The roadworthy celebration of Dieter Rams' Design

The final concept incorporates learnings from the brand analysis to deliver a modernist electric scooter which would fit into the Dieter Rams' portfolio of Braun Products. The design features straight lines with slot a shaped-headlight and a wide board for the comfort of the user.

There is an absence of anything ornate, indicating the modernist, functionalist values of Braun. The overall body shape is rectangular from the plan view as rectangular shapes were determined to be the most common feature in the Design Format Analysis.

The user interface features an accented ‘ON’ button with three dots indicating battery life. Indicator buttons are positioned by the user's thumb for functionality. The Fraud logo is positioned in a subtle and unobtrusive location.

The design also features simple, circular backlights, an accented red brake handle, a circular grid pattern on handlebar and circular indicators, extruding for visibility.

The scooter hinges on a semi-slot shaped hinge for the convenience of our targeted business class ‘first-and-last-mile’ user. A slot-shaped grip indicates the holding position for the centre of gravity and balance, while folded. The scooter can be folded into the back of an electric vehicle or taken on public transport.

We developed a scale prototype to evaluate the design. An open question survey invited participants to describe the scooter design in words. Words such as clean, modern, simplistic, minimalistic and electric were included in the responses received.