This is an academic auto design project from 2003. It was designed around the theory that there is a traditional division in the auto industry separating utilitarian vehicles from performance cars that has concealed an opportunity to produce a car inspired by both that could be very relevant to our contemporary, diverse lifestyles. Since the automobile has become a complete necessity to many of our daily lives, one should be able to experience both the performance and admiration of an aggressive car without sacrificing on the ruggedness required to survive on competitive and often under maintained roads. This design is a fusion of two vernaculars. Since early cars like Duesenbergs were built for dirt roads but styled with beauty and precision, it was envisioned that this car would have the same utilitarian capacity, durability and style as was common in the 1930s but in a contemporary, early 2000s form. This car features sport proportions with durable materials protecting impact areas and a removable roof and hatch that completely opens up the trunk/bed for maximum cargo capacity. Designed for a Chrysler sponsored studio, it features the design language of the Dodge division, fitting well conceptually within the intentions of that brand.
Modularem founder Jeff Welch worked with a team of consulting designers at the Michigan firm Bonnette Design to design and develop vehicles for the Marine Industry between 2003 and 2005. This yacht, produced by Searay Boats in 2006, represents the most comprehensive design developed by the team, who were responsible for providing a multitude of iterations for both the exterior and interior aesthetic as well as finalized drawings and models required for production. The images here illustrate Jeff’s personal contribution to the project which included hand drawn interior design concepts and the complete development of the digital 3D model, refined to engineering standards and used as the final surface model for the CNC cutting of the production fiberglass molds. The series of hand drawn helm / instrument cluster concepts were requested by midwest manufacturer Larsen Boats to help define a design direction for their sport boat line.
This gallery is a sampling of toy concepts designed for both Fisher-Price and Hasbro.
This 3-in-1 ultralight was a new vehicle for the popular Rescue-Heros action figure line by Fisher Price. Its design was an exercise in balancing play value with costing and manufacturing to find an optimal solution. As with most toys, it's size was limited by the space available on the toy store shelves but it needed to accommodate the bulky and odd proportions of a Rescue Hero action figure. The final design prioritized the child's play pattern by incorporating multiple transformations that, in the presence of imagination, allowed the vehicle to become a car, jet-pack or plane capable of landing anywhere due to a set of fenders that pivot into skis.
These conceptual design projects were completed in the employment of Group Four Design and Insight Product Development. This sampling includes a case for Skil/Bosch power tools that went into production in 2002, medical computer carts developed for Herman Miller and a baby monitor for Graco.
These bread bowls were designed by Jeff Welch and Nathan Currier-Groh at BaserMatter for Sotto, a premier Italian restaurant in downtown Cincinnati. The design reflected an initiative to produce products that celebrate their own materiality as well as the processes used to create them. The client was interested in a natural, almost rustic aesthetic which was leveraged into a bowl design that expressed the beauty of Walnut by allowing the CNC mill’s round tool to leave its mark in the direction of the grain. For mass production, numerous bowls were machined along the length of several single boards before being cut free, laser-branded, oiled and delivered.
This shop table was designed and produced in one day by a small group of professionals and non-professionals to provide a much needed work space within BaserMatter, a company co-founded by Nathan Currier-Groh and Modularem founder Jeff Welch. Its creation proved the viability of a developing theory celebrating the potential of simple materials, brought to fruition through a holistic structural concept which locks all components together with minimal assumptions about the need for mechanical fasteners. The table was begun by gluing standard pine 2x4s into two major “butcher-block” chunks, compressed together with threaded rods traveling through aligned holes, across the grain. The chunks were then flattened and smoothed on the CNC router and legs were cut to fit into tapered holes left during the gluing process. Finally, the two finished top pieces and the legs were bolted together using the same threaded rods and aligned holes as were used for gluing, resulting in a total of just 9 fasteners used. This process of construction, where the legs were integrated into the top and the rods used for both gluing and final assembly, saved resources and resulted in an entirely rigid and elegant mass that expresses the beauty and potential of wood.
Pallet 23 is a multi-functioning entertainment and production facility in Cincinnati Ohio. Because of a focus on attracting high end, pop-up dinners and catered events, the kitchen became an important and highly visible part of the interior development. This kitchen island was co-developed by Modularem founder Jeff Welch and Nathan Currier-Groh at BaserMatter Llc to be both an energetic art piece as well as a functional cooking and dining surface. An important parameter in its development was a pre-existing stockpile of pre-cut walnut boards supplied by the client. These were utilized to achieve an intentional curtain like aesthetic, a theme derived from the video production and theatrical entertainment functions of the space. The diminishing gradient in panel size is both aesthetic and functional as it produces a dynamic repetition pattern and grows wider where it is responsible for supporting more of the solid surface. Not unexpectedly, the construction and joinery details are visible and finessed. For quick on-site assembly, many of the connections relied on simple wedges pushed through holes to lock the parts together and these became an important visual detail. It comfortably accommodates seven people and has proven to be a conversational and valuable aspect of Pallet 23s operations.