L’Esigenza Della Velocità
July 20th, 2010Buddy Carr Skateboards just released L’Esigenza Della Velocità, a new longboard that I designed for them. The board features an innovative flush mount truck system that lowers the deck height, giving the rider better stability and control.
In Italian, “L’Esigenza Della Velocità” means “The Needs for Speed”, and that’s were I pulled most of my inspiration from. I’ve always been inspired by the beautiful graphic design and gorgeous color palettes present on racing cars from the 60’s and 70’s, and I tried to pay tribute to that minimal aesthetic is this design. It represents a time when graphic design was simpler and not bloated like it is today.
For the colors, I’ve been wanting to use a fluorescent Pantone for sometime now and the color Pantone 805 seemed to make sense for this piece. Coupled with a dark gray, I think it created a nice modern touch to the retro design. 805 is stunning in person.
For the layout, I composed the elements using the Golden Ratio. Might seem like overkill for something like this but it presented a pretty interesting composition that felt balanced to me. Here’s a screenshot of the guides in my Illustrator file that I created using the Golden Ratio. Because of the limited space on skateboards, I usually end up cropping elements to create a more interesting visual. I tried layouts where all the elements lived within the space, but that felt too unnatural and claustrophobic. Having elements bleed off the skateboard gives a sense of openness that I prefer. The checkered flag graphic and 805 color are continued onto the wheels to give the package a unified look.
When it came time to think about the typography, I knew that I wanted to design a typeface myself. Taking inspiration from vintage racing graphics, I designed a sans-serif that exhibits contemporary features, but that still retains that vintage feel. At least I think it does. My plan is to create a full typeface out of this, but we’ll see how that goes.
As with the other boards I’ve designed for Buddy, this was blast to do and I’m looking forward to creating some new designs for the lineup. We’re already in early phases of a new deck that continues this retro race aesthetic. Stay tuned!
For more pictures of the Velocita board, and to buy one, head over to the Buddy Carr site.
Matteo Balocco
I’m not sure about the fact that “L’esigenza della velocità” could be the right (or the best) translation for “Need for speed”. It’s a literal translation, so I can’t say it’s wrong, but it doesn’t make much sense in Italy. “Esigere” means needing something from someone, while “the need for speed” is more introspective. I think it’s more about terms like “bisogno”. However I would give a chance also to another semantic sphere such as “desiderio”, “sete”, “voglia”.
However, great job with the visual…
James Mattison
This is my least favourite of the three you’ve done for Buddy Carr but still a great-looking board nonetheless.
I kicked myself for not getting the Hello board when I first saw it. Any chance of a re-issue…?
Antonio Carusone
Thanks guys.
Matteo, I consulted with my mother on the translation. She was born and raised in Italy and has a masters in education, so I’m hoping her translation was accurate. But she did have the same points as you and at the end she reccommended this version. The other Words really don’t make sense when you really analyze them.
José Fonseca
Awesome! I love the typeface… It appears like to have features from Din and Neo Tech. Hope to really see a full type face of it!
Great job!
Keep it up!
Drew Kora
Amazing looking deck. This is probably my favorite graphic design of the three BC boards you’ve done, though The 39 still has my favorite shape. Wish I could have a meld of those two.
Amazing work. I’m floored.
Matteo Balocco
Antonio, tell your mother she did a great translation. Really!
My point was just due to the fact that here in Italy we don’t use a native equivalent for the “need for speed” phrase, so every translation just sounds… ehm… forced, in a certain way.
The other words I suggested, trust me (or just trust my PhD in Italian Literature), make sense with “di velocità” (especially “sete” and “desiderio” even if they are not literal translation of “need”) and they fit very well with the context.
However — as I said — I love the overall work, especially the font face and the checkered flag.
Kudos.