Brand Collabs

Open Bionics

2018-2023
Bristol, UK

My Role:

Industrial Design, Product Visualisation, Design for Manufacture

Tools Used:

Blender 3D, Adobe Suite, 3D Printing

During my time at Open Bionics, the company collaborated with a number of well known brands to produce licensed cover designs for the Hero Arm, based on popular characters from movies & video games. We worked with Marvel, Disney, Lucasfilm & Konami among others.

I was responsible for designing each set of covers; finding the essence of each character's aesthetic and capturing it in arm cover concept designs. I then worked with each brand's licensing team to refine these concepts for final approval, starting with 3D renderings and progressing through to pre-production samples.

I produced all prototypes myself using a combination of 3D printing, spray paint & vinyl decals, and developed bespoke production processes tailored to the requirements of each design in collaboration with Open Bionics' production technicians.
Once product approval had been granted by the licensor, I finalised the manufacturing process and delivered training to the production team.

During my time at Open Bionics, the company collaborated with a number of well known brands to produce licensed cover designs for the Hero Arm, based on popular characters from movies & video games. We worked with Marvel, Disney, Lucasfilm & Konami among others.

I was responsible for designing each set of covers; finding the essence of each character's aesthetic and capturing it in arm cover concept designs. I then worked with each brand's licensing team to refine these concepts for final approval, starting with 3D renderings and progressing through to pre-production samples.

I produced all prototypes myself using a combination of 3D printing, spray paint & vinyl decals, and developed bespoke production processes tailored to the requirements of each design in collaboration with Open Bionics' production technicians.
Once product approval had been granted by the licensor, I finalised the manufacturing process and delivered training to the production team.

Iron Man

Iron Man covers were the first licensed design released by Open Bionics. I adapted details from the various suits in a number of different Iron Man movies, and combined them to arrive at a final design that was well suited to the geometry of the Hero Arm.

Black Panther

Our Black Panther covers were released to coincide with the premiere of the second film - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Some details, such as the panther's head that wraps around the forearm, I adapted from the suit worn in the movie. I also included some additional more detailed African-inspired patterns, particularly around the wrist & elbow.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man was my favourite superhero as a kid, and I have fond memories of drawing him for hours on end, so I was pretty excited to work on this design. Inspired by the very popular "Spider-verse" films - where there are multiple different people assuming the role of Spider-Man, each with their own unique suit - I designed 3 variants of the covers. One Peter Parker (red/blue), one Gwen Stacy (white/pink) & one Miles Morales (black/red).

Metal Gear Solid

The Metal Gear Solid series is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. We partnered with Konami to release covers based on the bionic arm worn by the main character of the 5th game, "Venom Snake".
I adapted the arm from the game to better suit the 3D form of the Hero Arm, and liaised with Konami's creative team in Japan to gain approval for release.

Star Wars BB-8

The Star Wars BB-8 covers were one of the most difficult to adapt from film to product, simply because the character they are based on is a sphere with no arms! And so I had to find a way to capture the essence of the droid in an "inspired by" design.
I adapted various details from BB-8's spherical body & domed head and arranged them on the Hero Arm, ensuring the layout was adaptable enough that it could stretch to fit different sizes & shapes of arms.

© Ronan McAllister 2024