Pendulum Line (aka: designer’s paradise)

 Talk about fun!  Rogers acquired Pendulum, and along with that came new direction from a very energetic individual.  Well received by some, not so well by others (particularly those afraid of change), this initially was to be a simple redesign of existing products to conform to our manufacturing process and look.  One day this bundle of energy said,  ”The look is too soft.  We’re not in the ‘pink leotard’ club industry.  These are athletes who think they’re warriors!  It should look like gothic ninjas train on these machines!”  Inside I was screaming “HELL YEAH!”  Until he left the room, and basically the idea was shot down by others in the room.  Something inside me snapped and I decided to hell with what you think, I’m going the gothic ninja direction, slipped on the headphones, grabbed some Metallica and others from the playlist, and stayed late that night.  The concept was the “Death Row” row machine.  It had pointy edges, lines that would curve, and then sharply retreat back on themselves, linkages that looked like sword blades, and so on.

 Long story short, that emotion made it into the design, and others felt it.  The decision was made from higher up that the entire line would have this edgy look, and that I would direct the design that engineers were to work around.  Granted, now that they’re officially released and production ready, they’ve been watered down slightly, (the Death Row is now called the 3 way row, boo!), but overall I’m ecstatic with how they’ve turned out and the reception they’ve gotten.  By far this is the most fun I’ve had with my job, and the most time I’ve spent at it.  (Interesting how those coincide when they’re linked in the proper order…)

I hope you enjoy them as well: