PingMag is a dual-language (japanese-english) online magazine design based in Tokyo. It recently ran an interview I made with Brendan Walker, an ex-aeronautical engineer whose company Aerial specialises in the creation of ‘thrilling experiences’. The published article was changed slightly from the one I submitted, so here it is as originally intended:

Jo riding the Tristar

Do you remember how, as a child, some jobs seemed so cool you couldn’t believe people got paid to do them? Like working in a chocolate factory or as a test driver for Ferrari? I was reminded of that when I first met Brendan Walker, who started his career designing jet fighters but now works with some of the world’s top theme parks, designing future rides I talked to Brendan, who New Scientist dubbed the “Thrill Engineer,” about home-made fireworks, his fascination with aircraft crashes, and the difference between being thrilled and being frightened.

Read the rest of this entry ▷

Yesterday I made a presentation at Nokia’s Demand Supply Network Foresight seminar, held at Nokia’s global headquarters in Espoo, just outside Helsinki. The seminars are held biannually and simultaneously webcast to other locations, the idea is to introduce new thinking from outside Nokia’s areas of expertise, and to broaden the company’s perspective regarding future business environments.

The theme of the seminar was Mass Customization, and I was really lucky to be able to meet and talk with Frank Piller, who gave the keynote presentation. Also presenting were Johan Füller of The Hyve and Santtu Toivonen of Idean. My presentation talked mainly about the current state of the rapid manufacturing industry, and looked forward to ways in which consumers might utilise RM technologies to design and make their own products. The presentation itself is covered by a non-disclosure agreement right now, though I may be able to share it in future.

If all goes to plan it should be about five weeks until the frame and forks are ready, which is why I set today as the deadline by which I had to decide what colour the frame will be painted. Because I’ve gone for a lugless construction there’s no possibility of accent colours, so this should have been a relatively easy decision. On the other hand it’s a bike that I hope will last me a long time, and since this is a bespoke item it’s one which I want to reflect my personality to some extent, certainly more than an off-the-shelf model.

Although it might seem a bit backwards, one of the things driving my decision was that I’d already ordered a set of Velocity Deep V rims in orange. I’d seen these rims on a Surly Steamroller in NYC Velo last year, and my first thoughts were to copy the colour scheme but with orange rims instead of red.

Read the rest of this entry ▷