The Aesthetically Amazing Stella/PX!!!

[despurvoa]

I teach graphic design and drawing and I always tell my students that it's not enough to say you like the way something looks, but that as designers you need to articulate the reasons so that you can build on your aesthetic foundation.
So I was having fun applying the Golden Rectangle proportion (1.61803...) to both my GT 200 and a PX/Stella and discovered that there is a mathematical reason for why I think they are both so aesthetically appealing!

I tried to illustrate the relationship by also showing the Fibonacci Sequence, and the result can be seen with quarter-circles... tangent to the interior of each square, creating a special type of logarithmic spiral.

Yes, I probably forced things, but now I have further reason to justify my love for the beautiful form of my new Stella! If you like applying the result, then yay for you too!!!!

[Syd]

...Yes, I probably forced things...

Sounds like The Illuminatus! Trilogy, where they mention the law of fives. They say: "the real Law of Fives is realizing that everything can be related to the number five if you try hard enough. I always loved that quote.

Oh, that doesn't mean you're wrong, by the way

[despurvoa]

Maybe I've discovered the "Stella Principle." Or something like that!

[jasondavis48108]

despurvoa, have you ever seen the movie pi? This kind of reminds me of that. When someone wants to find some pattern they tend to find it even if they have to blur thier vision a bit There is a really good book about the golden goldern ratio that goes through and basically debunks all the places where folks say it has come up in art and other man made structures throughout the years.

http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Ratio-Worl ... 0767908163

As a mathematician I always find it interesting to see the ways in which folks try to apply the golden ratio to justify the beauty of manmade objects. I have to say I've never seen it used to justify the beauty of a scooter btw, I tried to find a good place to paint the golden spiral on my Buddy unlike the Stella the Buddy doesn't have cowls and that would really be the ideal place for it.

[despurvoa]

Sort of like the 7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, huh? Yeah, I'm sure that Golden Rectangle gets abused a lot!

I'm sure if I stare really hard at the Mona Lisa I'll see a small, red Stella traversing the landscape a-la-Sfumato!

Oh well, it was fun to think of yet another reason to love my scooters!

[jasondavis48108]

I'm sure if I stare really hard at the Mona Lisa I'll see a small, red Stella traversing the landscape a-la-Sfumato!

That was awemone

Now if I could only somehow link the Buddy to Cantor's concept of absolute infinity.

[loodieboy]

Torture a number and you can get it to say anything.

[illnoise]

I dunno, I think he's onto something, Corradino D'Ascanio was truly a genius of design and surely studied the Golden Mean and DaVinci (D'Asc. also designed planes and helicopters).

I bet some of the older models conform even more closely, and it wasn't an accident. Look at the cowl of any Vespa, it's the same shape as the Nautilus shell, even moreso early on.

The Vespa is often shown as a perfect example of form and function. Especially through the 50s and 60s, the body is the frame, every detail is beautiful, simple, and has a purpose. It was designed on a blank slate, the only component borrowed from something else was the front suspension (from piaggio's planes) but even that was a great decision that allowed a simple tire change without removal of the hub.

Other scooters are beautiful, but the Lambretta (for instance) is decoration hiding a tube frame, with (some would say) a bit too much superficial ornamentation. All modern scooters follow the same pattern, they are built around a predetermined engine and a frame, and DOT/EPA/EURO/CARB and other regulations require so many design concessions that it's not worth starting from scratch and coming up with something new, but I wish someone would try, both from an engineering and a design perspective, working together.

[ericalm]

Awesome. Also looks like it would work if you flip the curve vertically.

Good to know someone is teaching history and theory to budding young designers. I was asked to do portfolio reviews at a local college and… ugh… Afterwards, I was tempted to draft a letter with a harsh critique of the school's curriculum. They're churning out software monkeys, not designers.

[BuddyRaton]

Personally...with the exception of a Chetak I think the P series Vespas are the ugliest "classic" scooters.

My favorite is the GL!

[ericalm]

Personally...with the exception of a Chetak I think the P series Vespas are the ugliest "classic" scooters.

My favorite is the GL!

P series got nothin' on a T5 or a Cosa LX when it comes to ugly Vespas!

[BuddyRaton]

I actually kinda like the funkyness of the T5...but you have a good point with the others!

[despurvoa]

I have a book on Vespas and there is barely any mention of the T5 or the Cosa. Now I know why! LOL

Eric, it is interesting what you had to say about the trends in graphic design. I am amazed at how little is done to teach critical thinking and the actual concept process—thumbnails, roughs, comps—and just how crucial it is to working an idea.
Students have a tendency to just spit out (visually) what they see in pop culture without giving a thought to why it works and how it solves the design problem.
Yes, learn the software, but don't rely on it. It's just a tool (I'm sure they think I am a "tool" most of the time in class, too.) and I think that's why a lot of people think that it's the software that makes the winning graphics and visuals. That is a tragedy!
Anywho, sorry to diverge! Let me segue back by saying that's why I love the Vespa and the scooters that take their pedigree from them, is that when I look at them I see design solutions. Granted, some are better solutions than others, but there's thought there; the fingerprint of design.
I find that comforting with all the mass-generated crap that's being manufactured just to fill a niche.
(*gets off his soap box)

[illnoise]

The T5 was wildly popular in england, where it's really hard to get a license for a bike over 125cc. It was hellsa fast for a 125 at the time.

When you look at "nuova linea" P-series introductory literature, it's all about how the fresh new design is keeping up with the times and such, by that they meant "How much can we make a Vespa look like the Honda Elite? They're killing us right now."

I wish they coulda just kept the Rally body and updated the electrics.

The PKs were pretty ugly, too.

Bb.

[ericalm]

Slap the T5 headset on the Corsa and you have a Honda Eterno!

[polianarchy]

I <3 those boxy Vespas, and yes even the Honda Eterno.

[illnoise]

Eric, you got it right in your first post so I'll chalk it up as a typo, but for posterity and because it's Friday afternoon and I'm bored, It's "Cosa," spanish/italian for "Thing," not "Corsa," (Racing).

So i think they were kind of admitting they lost the plot when they named it. : )

Bb.

[BuddyRaton]

GL

[ericalm]

Eric, you got it right in your first post so I'll chalk it up as a typo, but for posterity and because it's Friday afternoon and I'm bored, It's "Cosa," spanish/italian for "Thing," not "Corsa," (Racing).

So i think they were kind of admitting they lost the plot when they named it. : )

Bb.

It was a typo at least one of the times I typed it.

There are plenty of T5 and PK aficionados out there. An odd breed. The Cosa, well, maybe not so much. And I love the '80s Hondas and Yamahas.