Volvo S80 Flashlight
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
The goal of this project was to understand a brand's form language through decoding, deconstructing and reconstructing its visual language into an adaptable system. Each person was assigned an automotive brand and model. The next step was to create a persona who represented the brand's target demographic and design an accessory product that reflected the automotive
brand and philosophy.
DESIGN INTENT
My Volvo S80 Flashlight captures my persona's values of safety and reliability in how it sits stable
on a flat surface due to its proportions and is sturdy based on its materials. It incorporates the
strong shoulder of the Volvo S80, the curve of the tail light, the more aggressive stance of the S80
compared to other series, the streamlined form of the S80 through the use of crisp edges and the
shape of the trunk reflected in the button of the flashlight.
PERSONA
I developed and used a persona to convey Volvo's core values and translated these values into a companion product.
William
Age: 45
Profession: Architect
Hobbies: Camping, Biking
As an architect William is doing well financially. He lives in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood with his wife Amy and twelve-year-old daughter Megan. He is a big family
man that cares about maintaining good health through nutrition and fitness. Whenever he
gets the opportunity he takes his family on camping trips, where he is always prepared
with the right equipment. William values safety, comfort, and quality and has been a loyal
Volvo customer for years. He recently bought the Volvo S80 with the intentions of passing it
along to his daughter when she is old enough to drive.
PROCESS
Throughout the project I developed a keen eye for identifying key features of a brand language, noticing subtleties that make it unique. My biggest breakthrough during this project was when I switched over from directly translating specific lines and features from the car onto my product
to capturing the essence of the brand and particular car model.
IDENTIFYING KEY FEATURES
EXPLORATION AND ANALYSIS
After gaining a basic understanding of the Volvo form language I drew as many different profile views as I could, ranging from simple to complex and literal to abstract. I plotted them on a 2x2 matrix to visualize areas where I needed to still explore.
DIRECTION ONE: ROTATIONAL FORMS
I picked my favorite profile sketches and used overlays to draw multiple iterations of them. I moved into perspective drawing and sketch modeling.
DIRECTION TWO: RECTILINEAR FORMS
Inspired by the boxy shapes of the older Volvo models, I blocked out rectalinear forms and drew potential cross sections.
DIRECTION THREE: CURVED FORMS
Adding angles and arcs created more dynamic forms. These were influenced by the newer Volvo cars, which are less boxy.
APPLYING PROPORTIONS
I chose to move in direction two and used the proportions of the Volvo S80 to inform the measurements of the flashlight.
REFINEMENT
I added elements from my third direction into the form and tweaked dimensions and angles to reference the essence of the Volvo S80 instead of following the exact proportions.
COMPILING
I combined elements from multiple models to assemble my final model.
ORTHOGRAPHICS
The goal of this project was to understand a brand's form language through decoding, deconstructing and reconstructing its visual language into an adaptable system. Each person was assigned an automotive brand and model. The next step was to create a persona who represented the brand's target demographic and design an accessory product that reflected the automotive
brand and philosophy.
DESIGN INTENT
My Volvo S80 Flashlight captures my persona's values of safety and reliability in how it sits stable
on a flat surface due to its proportions and is sturdy based on its materials. It incorporates the
strong shoulder of the Volvo S80, the curve of the tail light, the more aggressive stance of the S80
compared to other series, the streamlined form of the S80 through the use of crisp edges and the
shape of the trunk reflected in the button of the flashlight.
PERSONA
I developed and used a persona to convey Volvo's core values and translated these values into a companion product.
William
Age: 45
Profession: Architect
Hobbies: Camping, Biking
As an architect William is doing well financially. He lives in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood with his wife Amy and twelve-year-old daughter Megan. He is a big family
man that cares about maintaining good health through nutrition and fitness. Whenever he
gets the opportunity he takes his family on camping trips, where he is always prepared
with the right equipment. William values safety, comfort, and quality and has been a loyal
Volvo customer for years. He recently bought the Volvo S80 with the intentions of passing it
along to his daughter when she is old enough to drive.
PROCESS
Throughout the project I developed a keen eye for identifying key features of a brand language, noticing subtleties that make it unique. My biggest breakthrough during this project was when I switched over from directly translating specific lines and features from the car onto my product
to capturing the essence of the brand and particular car model.
EXPLORATION AND ANALYSIS
After gaining a basic understanding of the Volvo form language I drew as many different profile views as I could, ranging from simple to complex and literal to abstract. I plotted them on a 2x2 matrix to visualize areas where I needed to still explore.
DIRECTION ONE: ROTATIONAL FORMS
I picked my favorite profile sketches and used overlays to draw multiple iterations of them. I moved into perspective drawing and sketch modeling.
DIRECTION TWO: RECTILINEAR FORMS
Inspired by the boxy shapes of the older Volvo models, I blocked out rectalinear forms and drew potential cross sections.
DIRECTION THREE: CURVED FORMS
Adding angles and arcs created more dynamic forms. These were influenced by the newer Volvo cars, which are less boxy.
APPLYING PROPORTIONS
I chose to move in direction two and used the proportions of the Volvo S80 to inform the measurements of the flashlight.
REFINEMENT
I added elements from my third direction into the form and tweaked dimensions and angles to reference the essence of the Volvo S80 instead of following the exact proportions.
COMPILING
I combined elements from multiple models to assemble my final model.
ORTHOGRAPHICS