Booth Design: An Experience in Kinetic Sculpture

After having a very successful launch, Envoy is about to set a new benchmark in the avenue of pre-fabricated custom modular exhibits. It empowers trade show exhibitors with the unrivaled advantage of a clean, contemporary look in a lighter-weight system. The design is in keeping with the trend of today's most in demand brands.

I believe, this trend in design was set in 1998, when Volkswagen introduced the New Beetle. It ushered in the age of Curvilinear Coordinates. Apple, Herman Miller follwed suit.

The Beetle is less of a four wheeled machine and more a piece of "kinetic sculpture" as it glides down the freeway. Purposefully  different from the other cars it is a synergy of geometry and nostalgia. It is an eloquent expression of cohesion and form. The body fits neatly into the top half of a golden ellipse. The side windows repeat the shape of the golden ellipse, with the door resting in the square of the golden section rectangle. All the details of changes in surfaces are tangent golden ellipses or circles. The very detail of placement of the antenna is at an angle tangent to the front wheel well.

The golden ellipse is embedded in a golden rectangle construction diagram. The body fits in the top half of this golden ellipse. The major axis of the ellipse aligns with the body just below the center of the tires. A second golden ellipse encloses the side windows. The ellipse is also tangent to the front wheel well and tangent to the rear wheel. The major axis of the ellipse is tangent both to front and rear wheels....Source: Geometry of Design. In May 2010, Volkswagen announced that production of the current body of the New Beetle will cease in 2011. A redesigned model will replace it. If history is any guide, perhaps we will see the next step in deseign evolution.

---

---

Articles you might like

Design with 5 Minds

Harnessing the Concept of Zero

Rhythms in Geometry

Encounter with the Unconscious: Art of Surrealism