Oberdan Bezzi — Design Renderer
I will admit that I was not familiar with Mr. Bezzi, but a recent article in The Vintagent piqued my interest. Italian born and bred, with a passion for motorcycle design, he's worked as an internal designer for manufacturers but is now a freelancer. Apparently Oberdan is internet-famous for his prolific renderings. He may have a sport bike bent, but will happily put his talents toward any genre.
Despite being an artist at heart, Bezzi nonetheless appreciates the innate connection between the designer and the rider — the all-important emotional connection to aesthetic design.
“As a designer, my mission is to meet the expectations of the motorcyclist, this often contrasts with the inputs given by the manufacturers, which, for obvious commercial reasons, try to keep costs down, so it’s always a struggle between the designer’s ideas and those trying to rein in expenses. Motorcycles are products that are born to be sold and like all products — especially for those that must satisfy our ego — if they are ‘ugly’, they sell little and poorly. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone’s needs and tastes, so I believe good design is correctly responding to the desires of the many, but not everyone.”
Oberdan depends heavily on his historical perspective to find inspiration.
“If you know the history of the motorcycle and the history of a brand you’re developing a project for, you can always find the answers. The motorcycle doesn’t re-invent itself every time, it’s a continuous process of refinement, of trial and error. Today’s motorcycle is technically very different from the first motorized bicycles, but in the end, it always has two-wheels with an engine in the middle surmounted by a tank and a saddle. The motorcyclist is intrinsically traditionalist and doesn’t want to change that.”
To my eye, his designs achieve that elusive balance of mechanics and emotions. Some examples....
(click on an image to enlarge)
Clockwise from upper left:
Honda CB1100 reimagined as an RC30
Victory Roadster concept
Royal Enfield's new twin in the Hurricane's image
Guzzi Scrambler concept
I will admit that I was not familiar with Mr. Bezzi, but a recent article in The Vintagent piqued my interest. Italian born and bred, with a passion for motorcycle design, he's worked as an internal designer for manufacturers but is now a freelancer. Apparently Oberdan is internet-famous for his prolific renderings. He may have a sport bike bent, but will happily put his talents toward any genre.
Despite being an artist at heart, Bezzi nonetheless appreciates the innate connection between the designer and the rider — the all-important emotional connection to aesthetic design.
“As a designer, my mission is to meet the expectations of the motorcyclist, this often contrasts with the inputs given by the manufacturers, which, for obvious commercial reasons, try to keep costs down, so it’s always a struggle between the designer’s ideas and those trying to rein in expenses. Motorcycles are products that are born to be sold and like all products — especially for those that must satisfy our ego — if they are ‘ugly’, they sell little and poorly. It’s impossible to satisfy everyone’s needs and tastes, so I believe good design is correctly responding to the desires of the many, but not everyone.”
Oberdan depends heavily on his historical perspective to find inspiration.
“If you know the history of the motorcycle and the history of a brand you’re developing a project for, you can always find the answers. The motorcycle doesn’t re-invent itself every time, it’s a continuous process of refinement, of trial and error. Today’s motorcycle is technically very different from the first motorized bicycles, but in the end, it always has two-wheels with an engine in the middle surmounted by a tank and a saddle. The motorcyclist is intrinsically traditionalist and doesn’t want to change that.”
To my eye, his designs achieve that elusive balance of mechanics and emotions. Some examples....
(click on an image to enlarge)
Clockwise from upper left:
Honda CB1100 reimagined as an RC30
Victory Roadster concept
Royal Enfield's new twin in the Hurricane's image
Guzzi Scrambler concept
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