Jan - April 2024
Singer Vehicle Design
“A RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE”
Initially celebrated for its bespoke Porsche 911 restorations, Singer expanded its craftsmanship ethos to the high watchmaking sphere with Singer Reimagined in 2017. This dual focus on automotive excellence and luxury timepieces embodies their relentless pursuit of precision and timeless design.
Singer Vehicle Design
Childhood Love Sparks Passion
Just as the passion behind Singer, my resonation of childhood love and cultural memories was the sound of Mahjong Tile.
Mahjong is the most symbolic icon of Chinese entertainment development, significantly representing the culture that integrates into people's daily living
Home Use
Singer Vehicle Design
What Is The Passion Behind
“The roots of the obsession that led to Singer Vehicle Design lie in an encounter with a Porsche 911 in the mid-1970s on a French autoroute in my father’s red VW Beetle, during a family holiday.”
by Rob Dickinson
Design From Passion
Extravagant
Unobtrusive
Traveling
Taking A1, A3, and Mini size to making mock-up and studying tiles size
After Studying, the best size of the tile is actually between Large and US size
The L-size provides a better look and proportion, and the US-size makes it thinner
Competitor Analysis Matrix
Large
39*30*23
Unit:mm
A1 A2 A3 Mini US Japan
37*28*22
Unit:mm
Tile Size Study
35*26*20
Unit:mm
Mahjong Set Study
This is the orthographic view of a “plate” of mahjong tile
There are 144 mahjong tiles in a basic completed mahjong set, sometimes with 4 Joker or any other blank tiles for backup. In general, the whole set of tiles will be packed into 4 groups
In this case, a “plate” represents a group of tiles
Component List
- 148 Mahjong Tiles in Total: 36 Tiles for Chinese Characters, Bamboo, Dot
28 Tiles for Wind and Dragon
8 Tiles for Flower
4 Tiles for Joker
- 3 Dices
- Wind Trap
- Ruler
Graphic Redesign
- Symbol of Bamboo, Dot, Flower / Season tile, and Joker
- Symbol of 1 on the dice
Form Variation
Component Detail Shot
Scenario Render
Form Redesign
- Wind Trap
In mahjong, Wind Trap indicates the current game “round”. In general, each completed game consists of 4 rounds: East, South, West, and North (Wind tile)
- Ruler
Help beginners organize their tiles
Design Direction:
- Hard Chamfer with curvature
- Metallic finishing with reflection
Using physical 1:1 mock up to understand and adjust the size
The sketches, curvature adjustment, and proportional study contribute to the final model…
Curvature Adjustment
Interior Layout
Feature
Levitation Display
All the items float up while opening
Testing different curvature in SW
Proportional Study
Tile Assembly
Each tile is made with 3 parts: Carbon Fiber with sliver paint, White Porcelain, Titanium Alloy Frame
Carbon Black
Olive Green
Champagne
Opportunity
Extravagant & Traveling
Learn From Competitor
S.T. Dupont
- The material shows the luxury; craftsmanship reflects valuable
- Too heavy for carrying around
- French company making luxury goods including lighters, collectible pens, perfumes
- This mahjong is made by Tanzanian ruby, metal protecting ruby is Gold Vermeil. Besides, this set used over 1000 Burmese rubies and 300 diamonds for decoration
- Price: 1 million USD
Dice
Does dices need to be same material as tiles? Can we change the form/ graphic?
Ruler
Ruler can help organizing tiles. Is it possible to change the form but kept the function?
The brands/ companies making Mahjong in the current market are mostly luxury or entertainment-related
Comparing either Extravagant/ Unobtrusive or Home-use/ Traveling, there’s a huge opportunity in the current Mahjong competition
Hermes
- Hermes wants to lower the sound while playing but the sound is an essential part of the Mahjong experience, especially when they collide
- The front/face of each Mahjong tile is made with full calfskin leather, representing the design language of Hermes
- The case and main body of Hermes Mahjong is using rosewood, a good material with a long lifespan and displays luxury
- Price: 42,000 USD
Design Opportunity
WindTrap
Can we remove this from the set? Can the dice inside change the way it display?
31*23*19
Unit:mm
39*30*23
Unit:mm
Starting with the case packing mahjong set, sketching and developing the form
Orthographic & 3/4 Perspective View
Graphic
- Redesign and match with Singer’s aesthetic and design philosophy
Form
- Is it necessary to make tiles in this form?
- Make the whole tile with one material, or make two parts and then connect them
Sound
- There’s a certain sound when tiles collide. That’s the soul of mahjong
Giobagnara
- The idea of turning to a thin box after packing is brilliant. This mahjong set can fit into a regular backpack or luggage and doesn’t take up space
- A manufacturer of luxury handmade household goods that has been researching traditional leather since 1939.
- Professional in more than 200 dyed leather techniques and wood processing
- Price: 5,540 USD
39*30*23
Unit:mm
Singer
39*30*23 Unit:mm
39*30*23
Unit:mm
Clasp
Slightly pressing clasp to open the case
Tile Graphic Design
The Dot Graphic is the combination of various circular designs from Singer’s vehicle and chronograph, including the instrument panel and exhaust pipe.
The bamboo graphic originated from the pointers on the watch and instrument panel
The Chinese graphic is inspired by the typeface SiYuan HeiTi, a functional typeface that is designed for concluding all Asian countries’ characters
Handle Integration
The handle is completely hidden and integrated into the case and it will pop out after pressing down
Handle Assembly
Handle assembled with 2 parts: White Carbon Fiber and Silicone
360° Overview
One side with handle, one side with clasp