I have been getting a LOT of comments on the wrap I designed for the KTM 1090 Adventure R. The responses range from "Give me my barf bag," to "This is the best looking KTM I have ever seen!"
The design is polarizing, and I GET IT, but why? What does it mean? Where did it come from?
As an artist, I have always loved to make things look the way that I want them to look. My last bike was a 2016 BMW R1200GS and I designed a wrap for it as well. It was just a design though. Some colors, shapes, etc. I wanted it to look cool, but didn't develop the design with any real meaning.
When I started to design the wrap for the KTM, I had this upcoming trip in mind. I wanted it to be rooted in the journey ahead. I wanted the design to project my expectations of the journey ahead. A lot of people are frightened of what they do not know or fully understand. This misunderstanding/ fear creates hatred and bias. I tend to look on the bright side of things and stay optimistic. When I think of Latin America, I think of the rich culture, amazing architecture, animals, and more than anything else, I think of the loving people of these great countries. I wanted this design to project that.
In order to combine all of these things, I decided to go with a Mayan theme, but with a twist. I used somewhat of a caricature of Quetzalcoatl to represent the ancient civilization, but then added shapes and colors to that were warm and energetic to represent the people and rich culture.
In the end, the design does exactly what I wanted it to do, it makes you think. It represents the colorful warm Latin America that I have learned to love.
The colors are festive and resemble they way people paint their homes in Mexico.
ReplyDeleteThe bit of the Quetzakcoatl serpent visible is identifiable. Wonder what reactions you'll get to that?
It will certainly stand out from all the other bikes.