Lucid Blog

Design of an Electric Guitar Lucid has designed an electric...

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:20:00 +0530

Design of an Electric Guitar

Lucid has designed an electric guitar for up and coming guitar company Finkelpearl. One of the more exciting projects Lucid has worked on!

The guitar draws it’s inspiration from the jazzmaster shape, but departs dramatically with some modern surfacing, details and materials. All parts in contact with the guitarist are polished wood. The front of the body is a lacquered finish. A unique combination of pick-ups creates a brighter sound.

We hope to inspire a lot of guitarists out there to pick up this guitar because we put our heart and soul into designing it. And then they can in turn, inspire us!

You can see more and even support the development of the guitar here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/715635424/the-finkelpearl-vectorjet-cg

Eco Packaging 2 I recently received a gift from San Francisco, a...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:15:50 +0530

Eco Packaging 2

I recently received a gift from San Francisco, a set of 4 ceramic bowls. The packaging that protected it across the 20,000km journey was quite incredible. A flat piece of paper that is folded into a triangular shape and tends to stay folded because of the many interlocking cut outs in the design.

The pieces create an effective suspension for the delicate items in the box with all the air gaps they provide. And once you’ve received the package you can remove the gifts and simply recycle the entire box as paper. A nice departure from the unsustainable foam and polystyrene packaging that we are used to, and all completely recyclable!

Branding for a Sports Complex in California Lucid has created...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:50:00 +0530

Branding for a Sports Complex in California

Lucid has created the brand identity for an awesome new sports complex in Garden Grove, California.

The visual language of sports in the United States was established in the first half of the 1900s. And through the years, it has changed very little.

Lucid intentionally departed from this commonplace visual culture, to create something fresh, sophisticated and modern. Helping to move sport in America into a new era of precision, performance and style!

See more here: http://www.facebook.com/NextLevelSportsComplex

Image Copyright Next Level Sports Complex.

Inspiration from Hong Kong

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:14:37 +0530

Inspiration from Hong Kong

Digital Alter Natives Book Design Hivos (Netherlands) and Centre...

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 09:28:00 +0530

Digital Alter Natives Book Design

Hivos (Netherlands) and Centre for Internet & Society (India) had commissioned Lucid to design a 4 part book for them entitled “Digital Alter Natives: With a Cause?”. The book was also accompanied by a kit that contained a booklet entitled “D:Coding Digital Natives”, a poster, a cd and some stickers.

The project involved submissions from over 50 contributors, from academics to scholars, to practitioners, educators, policy makers and corporate representatives, to share learnings on the Digital Native (defined as a person born during or after the general introduction of digital technology such as the internet). These technologies have allowed Digital Natives to reshape the structure of interpersonal relationships, social communication, economic expansion, political protocols and government mediation, and the books highlight these redefinitions.

The project was launched on September the 16th, 2011 at the Museum of Communication in the Hague. We enjoyed designing these books tremendously. We wanted them to be edgy and engaging (unlike other research books) and imbibe and portray the interactive nature of the internet into a static medium. The project was very well recieved!

To learn more please follow this link: http://www.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/dnbook

Or to read the books online, please click here: http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-Knowledge-Programme/Themes/Digital-Natives-with-a-Cause/News/Digital-AlterNatives-with-a-Cause

Talk about Eco-Friendly I came across this packaging recently...

Tue, 10 May 2011 17:08:58 +0530

Talk about Eco-Friendly

I came across this packaging recently for some ayurvedic soap. In addition to the obvious benefits of using ayurvedic soap (all natural, locally made, no harmful chemicals, rich in minerals and vitamins) the packaging also sported some strong eco credentials.

The outer covering is made from palm leaves that are heat compressed into a shell. The soap is wrapped in recycled paper and the shell is closed with string making sure the product is untampered with. When you are done with this packaging you can simply toss the entire thing into the compost bin. But with such beautifully natural design and simplicity, I found that a little hard to do without looking at it a few more times.

The Sundial Bridge This is a design classic that I’ve dug...

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:25:12 +0530

The Sundial Bridge

This is a design classic that I’ve dug out of my archives. On a road trip heading north in California, we took an intentional detour to see Santiago Calatrava’s Sundial Bridge in Turtle Bay, Redding.

The bridge did not disappoint. A majestic single cantilever holding up a translucent deck that glows blue at night. It also doubled up as a clock, using the sun to tell time by casting shadows onto numbers in the park at one end of the bridge. The bridge spanned 700 feet and did not touch the water at any point.

Interesting story about this bridge, it was constructed at nearly ten times the intended budget. Long battles were fought at city hall against this blatant waste of public funds. However when it was finished it became directly responsible for a 42% increase in visitors to Redding.

Funny how a pedestrian foot bridge can put a whole city on the map!

Freedom Park in Bangalore Pleasantly surprised to see a nice...

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 15:35:00 +0530

Freedom Park in Bangalore

Pleasantly surprised to see a nice public project where they’ve taken a 150 year old prison in Bangalore and converted it into a park.

Aptly named Freedom Park, the city held an open competition inviting submissions for the conversion. The winning architect was given a generous budget to execute the transformation.

The architects have retained a sense of history and maintained the prison barracks in some areas so you understand the history of the place. Since a lot of freedom fighters were imprisoned here in colonial times, a contrast between the beautiful outdoor spaces and the cramped dark cells highlights the lack of freedom inmates undoubtedly felt.

The park features sharp, light and angular features of rock and landscaping, against the rounded, overbuilt and heavy colonial buildings. A modern exhibition space with dynamic walls that can be opened, is very stylishly connected with a beautiful angular sectioned foot bridge. Even pathways progressively taper off into nature in an angular design to symbolize the overbuilt and overly secure prison returning to nature and freedom.

Very inspiring overall, I hope to see other public projects of this caliber in Indian cities.

So Much Information Built Into the Streets I know that in most...

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 23:31:00 +0530

So Much Information Built Into the Streets

I know that in most parts of the world, a street is covered in tarmac and then a whole bunch of paint is applied in various configurations to delineate the different functions of different parts of the street. And a lot of the time, the lines are worn away making the street quite unsafe.

If you think about it, a street has to communicate a lot of information to the various types of users on it. You have pedestrians, bicycles, rickshaws, carts, cars and trucks amongst other things, depending on where you live (I’m talking cows in India!)

In Penang, the Malaysians have taken this to a whole new level, and in a way that is not likely to be worn off soon. The street is cast in concrete and brick in various colors. The main driving lanes are gray in an interesting pattern. The bicycle lane is cast in a red toned concrete with a horizontal gray concrete brick separator. The parking areas are outlined with a yellow toned concrete brick. The intersections are a criss cross pattern of gray and red toned concrete. And there is even a pattern in gray and red for motorcycles and cycles to park in.

The result looks very sophisticated, is very informative, and naturally very durable and permanent as it is all cast in concrete. Pretty smart!

The Coolest Restoration A hotel in Penang has done one of the...

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 23:05:55 +0530

The Coolest Restoration

A hotel in Penang has done one of the coolest restorations I’ve ever seen. Taking a congested row of Chinese shop houses and combining it into one very casual and stylish hotel with multiple rooms.

Inside, the walls are retained as is, exposing the wonderful layers of build up gathered over a century of use. However, the furniture has been nicely updated with a few modern objects and a lot of restored pieces that retain their original wear. By carefully controlling the colors and placements, the space exudes a sense of style that is simply not achievable through just modern furniture.

I hope to see more such restorations in the future that retain all of the glamour and sense of history of a bygone era, but accent it with some modernity that is fun and classy.

Britannia Healthy Start by Lucid We recently completed the brand...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:50:09 +0530

Britannia Healthy Start by Lucid

We recently completed the brand identity and packaging designs for Britannia’s Healthy Start line of breakfast mixes.

Britannia wanted to take on a fresh new perspective for this project, and work with us in particular, to deliver something that the Indian market hadn’t seen!

The products launched last month and will be sold all over India in a months time. The response so far has been great and we’re looking forward to seeing Healthy Start products catching on as it’s something that we really believe in ourselves.

Britannia is one of the largest food and beverage companies in India. And we’re looking forward to working with them again in the future to improve the way Indians relate to food!

Design Discussion Lucid Design’s Amit Mirchandani will be...

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:57:00 +0530

Design Discussion

Lucid Design’s Amit Mirchandani will be speaking at PageTurners Book Store in Bangalore, India on the 29th of January 2011 at 4pm.

Here are the details of the event:

Messing with People’s Heads

Featured Speaker:  Amit Mirchandani

Amit brings a fresh new perspective to design that questions the reasons behind why things are what they are. He believes the future can be and should be something quite different. Something more sustainable, more peaceful and more beautiful. And he believes that Design is how it will be achieved!

About Amit Mirchandani:
A graduate of the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, Amit is the founder of Lucid Design India Pvt. Ltd. He is also a founding partner of the award winning design collaborative Lift.

Amit’s work has been featured in publications such as Time, Metropolis and ID magazine. Amit’s work has also been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York.

About Young Designers Bangalore: 
As the creative lead that will determine India’s future, not just aesthetically, but environmentally and economically, YDB serves as a forum to discuss which way we want India to develop.

Since everybody agrees that design is one of the most integral aspects of any civilization and it’s growth, we can be the change that we want to see!

Minimal Motorcycle I ran across this little gizmo on the streets...

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:35:00 +0530

Minimal Motorcycle

I ran across this little gizmo on the streets of San Francisco. I couldn’t help but stop and marvel at the simplicity of it’s design.

As we move toward the future, one thing is clear, we need our products to be as simple as possible. They need to be made from as little materials as possible, and they need to be as easy to disassemble and recycle as they were to put together in the first place.

This motorcycle is a brilliant first step towards that future. From the tubular structure that houses the fuel tank, to the exhaust that is held up by the seat. At every turn, parts have been minimized, and attached so that they are in full view for easy disassembly. In fact you could probably recycle this whole motorcycle by removing the electricals, tires and the seat, draining the fluids and then simply melting down all of the remaining metal parts. I think this is just beautifully simple!

Happy Holidays! Wishing everybody out there a wonderful new...

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:20:32 +0530

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everybody out there a wonderful new year!

Muji Philosophy Nobody does it better than Muji! They’ve...

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 12:15:53 +0530

Muji Philosophy

Nobody does it better than Muji! They’ve created simple products, meticulously crafted and engineered, timeless in their design and a joy to use.

I’m a firm believer in buying the best and then not having to replace it. It ends up being more sustainable that way. And now Muji has given us the best, and shattered the misconception that the best has to cost the earth.

Color Inspiration from New York

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:32:00 +0530

Color Inspiration from New York

Alexander Calder: A Metaphor for the Future I’ve always...

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 04:08:00 +0530

Alexander Calder: A Metaphor for the Future

I’ve always admired Alexander Calder’s work. However, I’ve only recently begun to understand why…

It’s because everything that I’ve tried to embody in my own work as a designer, Calder does metaphorically in Art. As we move toward the future, it’s become all too clear the environmental impact and resource depletion that humanity has caused. And as designers we have no choice now, but to do our best to try and minimize resource use, but at the same time, improve people’s lives.

In other words, we have to use the most minimal of materials to try and fill out an object that’s both visually appealing as well as functionally progressive. Calder’s sculptures do exactly that, a simple line of wire is able to tell a very compelling story and to trace out a very significant and full form. It’s even more interesting to have our imaginations fill out the forms that aren’t there, as opposed to say a greek marble sculpture were everything is present, but a very large, heavy and significant piece of marble was used.

We have to move from the greek sculpture to the Calder. It’ll mean we can do so much more, with so much less, in such a more poetic and imaginative way.

Inspiration from the MoMa New York Artists such as Magritte,...

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:06:00 +0530

Inspiration from the MoMa New York

Artists such as Magritte, Pollock, Le Corbusier, Alex Molton…

Highline Park in New York A defunct elevated rail track has been...

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 09:58:00 +0530

Highline Park in New York

A defunct elevated rail track has been converted into a beautiful park in New York city. This space is a wonderful example of transitioning the function of a space from one to another, without losing the essence or historical value of the space.

It’s important to retain the historical context of a place and celebrate it, rather than erase it completely. I’m seeing this happen all too often, and I think it is a big mistake. As a designer, I consider a successful design, one where the design has multiple layers of meaning and one that can be enjoyed at many different levels. A city is no different, and if it loses history as one of the layers, then it starts to lose it’s identity and become more generic.

The other great aspects of the park, are the consistency of the design details from the benches that appear as though they were pried up from the floor, to the water fountain. The tracks that have been retained and some that even have rolling seats on them. The limited and refined material use and the consistency of their colors.

There are also great new spaces with new functions, like the traffic viewing gallery, and the art view points.

Transport at the Gagosian Gallery, New York You might recognize...

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:21:15 +0530

Transport at the Gagosian Gallery, New York

You might recognize these works as that of a certain celebrity Australian designer. No doubt his talent is obvious, and his designs are imposing overall. However how does it hold up in the details?

Well, if you ask me, Marc’s designs are all in the details! In fact, all great design is all about simplifying the major surfaces so that your eye has no trouble following the form and thus perceiving it as something pleasing. Then the details look like jewels in a setting that have the power to generate great excitement!

The language of design has a vocabulary and is a medium of communication. Marc has radically reinterpreted the design of a product, going back to the original intent and understanding it thoroughly. And then building the product up from there.

Take his 021C car concept for example: we are not allowed to travel faster than 70mph/110kmh on most roads, so why build a car that looks like a plane? Why not focus on giving the car some personality so that it is a calm and relaxing pleasure to be in, and not some statement about speed, power and aggression. And take the trunk for example, in this car it functions as a drawer! What a great thought….you use drawers all the time and their mechanisms are so much easier to engineer…fewer moving parts! And the dashboard is a perfect example of simplification that draws focus to the jewel like dials which become the center of attention.

As a general statement about moving forward, we need to simplify* dramatically….only then can we appreciate the fact that all of design/life is about the details/little things!

*Read an article about Simplification here.