EV Platform designed to deliver flexible feature options for users

E-flat is a neighborhood electric vehicles (NEV) platform designed to stimulate the emergence of a new vehicle business and ownership models, derived from its simple architecture that facilitates local design and assemblies.

Vehicles will be assembled with a wide selection of components and dedicated peripherals, providing flexible feature options for users. Additionally, E-Flat's simple platform architecture will significantly lower business barriers for potential new business entrants, accelerating innovation design experimentation over the platform.

Ultimately, E-flat will facilitate the emergence of a dynamic local mobility ecosystem comprised of diverse offerings and user culture, as it facilitates collaborative innovation amongst users, OEMs, service providers, and component builders. 

See E-flat's market entry strategy

See E-flat prototype build process

See E-flat in the news stories

E-flat's Market Entry Strategy

E-flat's componental design and assembly interface enable EV business model built around crowd microfunding.  

The users will have the flexible option to enter initial EV experience without costly excess components.  As their needs grow, users will be able to scale up their vehicles through crowd funding, ranging from an open quad-cycle to a fully enclosed vehicle.

In addition to providing an open EV building experience, E-flat brings for the users a social networking tool and platform for creating communal aspiration built around EV experience.  

Membership-based rapid transit system

"Cuve" is the future of shared transit experience and mobility business model that offers a crowd-branded transit experience, designed to revitalize local communities by linking individuals, communities, and spaces.

Video credits:

Animation: Stephan Park

Sound: Deon Lee

Concept: David Day Lee

How could vehicles experiences be designed to augment the flight experience and channel brand values? 

Teams of graduate transportation design students from Art Center worked with Virgin Galactic in desining ground experience and vehicle solutions for the Galactic spaceport where solutions were needed for customer transport and aircraft support vehicles.

Our team of three systems designers presented a winning candidate solution that provided:

1. Designs for a fleet of vehicles and strategies for integrating them into the spaceport.

2. Brand strategies to frame the VG experience into a premium "transformative" one through facilitating travelers' post-journey experience with branded, grassroots driven customer engagement.

This presentation was used for Virgin's internal document that validated the of partnership between Virgin Galactic and Land Rover.  See the announcement.  

Project Overview

Client (Virgin Galactic); project facilitation by Art Center's graduate transportation design department; project duration (four weeks); recognition (department competition winner); consulting team (David Day Lee, Akash Chudasama, Raul David Poblano); vehicle illustration (Yang Cai)

Scalable EV performance, curated by Saleen

Emerging consumer values reveal a design opportunity to tailor a vehicle for market segments that seek "open-user journey" experiences.

EQ 001's simple upright platform, housing an inline chassis and drive system, effectively becomes a design canvas for easy design updates as well as consumer facilitated customization. This allows Saleen to evolve into a brand that curates a user-centric performance EV experience. 

Project Overview

Client (Saleen Automotive); project facilitated by Educational Partnership of Art Center College of Design, Pasadena CA; project duration (13 weeks); recognition (selected for installation at client's design studio).

Innovation in the hands of many

The Maker Series is a vehicle design interface created with the goal of advocating crowd-driven design from a collaborative synergy between OEMs, local retail centers, and users.  

The Maker Series concept was inspired by influential trends now shaping consumer values: mainstream adoption and interest in rapid prototyping technologies, and emerging consumer cultures that value "creative experiences" evidenced by trends in open-source tech development and growing demand for DIY products. 

Starting with a clean-slate vision, the Maker Series seeks to create a vehicle that accommodates local, and user-generated component design and assembly experiences, primarily through cutting, folding, and 3D-printing techniques. (See possible designs from cut/fold form composition process)

By allowing vehicles themselves to become the platform of crowd-driven innovation, the Maker Series aspires to become the catalyst for a revolutionary shift in customer engagement strategies.  

Graduate industrial design students at Art Center were commissioned by a business start-up to create vehicle presentation enhancement products for car dealership showrooms.  

This established the design framework that led to the creation of vehicle shopping/sales app simulation, and multiple stakeholder user stories.   The presentation received winning status by the client and panel of design and business experts. 

Participatory Cooking Experience

In the spring of 2013, I had the privilege of collaborating with Mormedi (Madrid, Spain).  For three weeks, the design team worked on refreshing and updating an internal project, Agora kitchen island, and aligning it with strategic opportunities identified from emerging trends in smart appliance systems and urban living spaces.  I was personally responsible for pinning the design updates for the island and the newly added back unit.   

To see more on Mormedi's site, click here.

[c] Mormedi, used with permission

The Gear for the creatives

Observing designers at work yielded an important insight that they do not use their stools as platforms of comfort. Seating devices that are designed around traditional notion of comfort and ergonomics do not take into account that people need to be productive. Therefore, ZAD has been designed to create seating gear that supports "creative performance". 

Project Overview

Client (GradID, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena CA); project duration (13 weeks); CAD model with Solidworks; processes used (mandrel bending, powder coating); rapid prototyping (SLA, SLS)

Using design to connect and empower communities

In the summer of 2012, students from both Art Center College of Design's graduate industrial design department and Pasadena City College collaborated in entering "Formula E," a design and engineering contest for rubber band-powered remote-controlled racers.

David Day Lee, Michael Attaway and Sonia Lui formed "Team Saluki," coordinating design, engineering, marketing, and collaborative work with a local non-profit organization for sponsorship. The team's goal was to use the design entry as a platform to foster the integration of innovation, education, and community empowerment.  

Project Overview

Project duration (14 weeks); partcipants (David Day Lee, Michael Attaway, Sonia Lui); awards (1st place, straight course; 3rd, design award)

Alienware gaming helmet. (2011)

This was a quick design exercise for a 3D modeling class. I wanted to design visual cues that would signify a "four-dimensional experience" and augmented technologies in a gaming helmet.  

'Roomstream' Filtration System (2011)

Prior to entering Art Center, I had years of experience with Amazonian exotic fish and DIY'ed water filtration systems as a veteran aquarist. Once I added CAD skills to my repertoire, I wanted to revisit my old hobby with a proprietary water filtration system design. The system was designed for easy maintenance with flow management allowing maximum exposure of the water to de-nitrifying bacterial cultures on the filter media. By integrating the plant pot with the filter, nitrate removal has also become possible while enhancing the overall appearance of the total setup. 

Metro + Comical + Iconic = "Metro Comicon"

Neko is a three-passenger Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) for the youthful urban multi-modal commuters of Harajuku in Tokyo. Its micro size, narrow and tall proportion, ball-jointed all-wheel steering, and bold lighting design are combined with a clear, youthful identity; making Neko a small and efficient urban transport packaged in a big personality.    

Project Overview

Student project (exterior 4, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena CA); instructors (Dennis Campbell, former studio chief of Calty Design; Bumsuk Lim, former senior designer, Honda); project duration (14 weeks); awards (gallery exhibit selection).