San Diego Jewish Academy 10th Grade Humanities Montage - Article Abstract

In order to start to understand the overall picture of any event or organization, good readers look at related background information before making judgments.

Consequently, for each article pertaining to an event, please provide the following information.

Date:

Title, author, source:

Setting (political and geographic):

Characters (key figures and subordinate groups):

Conflict (opposing forces, man vs. nature, man vs. self, man vs. status quo):

Theme (universal story, life lesson):

Closing Statement:

Name: Doug Kipperman

Date: 9-19-00

Title, author, source:

• "Superformer"
• Mark Frauenfelder
• Wired Magazine, October 2000, pp. 174-180

Setting (political and geographic):

• Multinational free market enterprise
• London, England; Copenhagen, Denmark; San Francisco, CA, USA

Characters (key figures and subordinate groups):

• Jens Martin Skibsted, Elias Grove Nielsen, co-founders of Biomega
• Ross Lovegrove, British (London) industrial designer
• Marc Newson, Australian-born industrial designer
• Immediate market - "urban hipsters" who can afford and appreciate good design "These guys are trying to push the image of bikes and create a lifestyle product." (Zorkendorfer, p. 176)
• Industrial designers and manufacturers who can use this technology for other adaptations.
• Consumers of industrial design, eventually this technology will impact many consumers in many markets.

Conflict (opposing forces, man vs. nature, man vs. self, man vs. status quo):

New design and technology vs. status quo - The bike industry has not really changed the overall design and construction of the bicycle since its inception. Biomega is breaking the mold in that they are looking at the design process from a fresh perspective to "explore the limits of bike design". "It wasn't just an attempt at novelty; it was a way to not build a bike in the traditional manner…"(Skibsted, p. 179) (Newsom, p. 179)

Theme (universal story, life lesson):

Breaking old paradigms - The designers of the Biomega bicycles are looking to find new ways of using materials and new ways of using established products - "Skibsted's mind is still bursting with ideas, including one notable long-term project: a bike for use at the Lunar Hilton, a far-fetched but serious proposal to build a hotel on the moon." (Frauenfelder, p. 180)

Closing Statement:

With people who are willing to look at new ways of doing things, new ways of solving problems, risk-takers, our future may have its ups and down, but we are destined to continue on to new unimagined realms, of course, with the caveat that we are mindful of the risks.