conveX

What it does

conveX is a brand-new social facility design for the unsignalized intersections safety. It consists of over ten thousand reflection units. Its geometry structure successfully reflects the headlight from the approaching car to users to provide alert in advance.

Your inspiration

We were inspired by many flaws coming from our awful experiences in real life. For example, in many big cities, reflecting mirror facilities just like security guards, which were installed at the corner of unsignalized intersections to make sure the safety of road users. However, we found that many reflecting mirror facilities were often poorly installed and unsightly. In addition, many social issues would fatal to pedestrians, such as dense residence, shared-use lanes and high-speed overtaking in lanes. So we decided to redesign the facility and try to renew the imagination toward these kinds of social traffic product.

How it works

The core value of conveX is to avoid accidents by traffic facility design. Through the surface structure design, conveX turn cars’ headlight into a directional icon, which provide clearly and instantly alert for pedestrians. The standard full size of conveX is length 1360.4*width 1405*height 12mm, and it is installed on the road surface with 11 M10 screws. The thin and streamlined shape makes the whole device more close to the ground. In order to make the warning more clear, the color of the product is designed to match the color of environment, which will highlight the warning message. The modular design of conveX allows the product can be resized and reused. By adding or reducing, it can easily adapt to wider or narrower intersections. In addition, when maintenance is required, it can also be maintained separately or replaced by single piece.

Design process

conveX has been through many different stages of development. First, we went on field research and street shooting before we design. Through our research, we found many problems around different communities, such as dense residence, shared-use lanes and high-speed overtaking in lanes. Initially, we aimed to create a new type device which applied in the principle of light refraction by sphere structure design to provide warning messages. Although the result of the process is complicated and unsatisfying, these attempts still lead us to another possibility of light reflection. In the later development stage, we not only focused on our product but also attended the seminar of Intelligent Transportation Society of Taiwan to study more deeply about traffic facilities and developments. We thoroughly understood the road planning, regulations, as well as government's plan of upgrading facilities. Eventually, we list three crucial targets that we should follow in design: 1.The information send from the safety device should be simple and intuitive 2.Slim and modular design system is more suitable for public spaces 3.The colors of product need to perfectly match the environmental colors. We think all stages lead our design better and good for our societies.

How it is different

Three features of conveX are as follows: 1. Geometrical reflection structure 2. Modular design 3. New definition of public facilities color. By geometrical reflection structure, we made this facility more intuitive for users. In this public facility design, we also take several environmental issues into consideration, not only friendlier for users, but also need to have greater tolerance in installation. The modular design makes it easier to install and maintain. Moreover, the appearance and color design of conveX makes it as a piece of art in our city. By design, residents and public facilities will have better interaction!

Future plans

We had a good result of testing conveX model. Now we continue to research with relevant associations to improve this device to make the product more flat and mass-producible. In the future, we sincerely hope that we could have the opportunity to apply this concept to roads practically to improve the safety and quality of life in lanes!

Awards

Taipei International Design Award- Judges' Special Award / Young Pin Design Award - Industrial Design Award