BE the change you want to see in the world." Token Hu, 27, embraces the famous quote by Gandhi because it describes his own work and philosophy so succinctly.
In this case, "change" is going green. Hu is a full-time designer at California-based Frog Design Inc's Shanghai office, but in his spare time he operates his own small company called the TKXX Collection, which sells the X-Zoomer scooter brand he designed himself. He said the scooter is the first in China to be green, user-friendly and stylish.
Though patterned on Honda's petrol-fueled Zoomer model, the X-Zoomer is solely electrically powered and is built with 75 percent recycled materials. According to Hu, the X-Zoomer is the chic, carefree little vehicle to have if you want to demonstrate your green credentials while tootling around the city.
"It was born out of my long-time wish to save the reputation of ... Honda Zoomer"
"In mid-2009, the idea of creating the X-Zoomer popped in my head out of an impulse to upgrade my own transport," Hu said. "But above all, it was born out of my long-time wish to save the reputation of my favorite scooter, the Honda Zoomer."
Though the Zoomer was never officially introduced to China, the Honda model has been finding its way into the domestic market through shanzhai (imitated and pirated) production lines owned by copycat manufacturers.
At the same time, urban pollution continues to rise as more and more fuel-combustion vehicles pour onto Shanghai streets.
By launching a new version of a redesigned and even more eco-friendly Zoomer, Hu said he could help restore the scooter's reputation in China amid the rip-off models.
As a self-taught expert on mechanics with years of experience in industrial design, Hu was equipped to take on the task. He credits his own can-do spirit and down-to-earth realism that helped him turn an idea from a sketch to reality.
To do that, he rented a basement in his apartment building in Xuhui District and set up a makeshift workshop, where he tinkered after work and on weekends. He had to do extensive testing of electric machinery, controllers, vehicle frame designs and assembly components.
After six months of hard work, the first-generation X-Zoomer hit the streets in January 2010. Hu said the scooter was 70 percent original, exceeding the 30 percent benchmark required in order to lay claim on a vehicle redesign as one's own intellectual property.
"Riding the X-Zoomer to work was so cool that it even attracted fancy car owners who would roll down their windows and ask me where they could buy one," Hu said proudly. "I told them my ride was one of a kind."
The X-Zoomer is an eye-catcher. In fact, it retains the "Angel Eye," the iconic front light of the Honda model, though Hu's version is operated by an LED (light emitting diode) cold light source to reduce energy consumption.
Though electric-powered, the X-Zoomer mimics the sound of a combustion engine to alert passers-by and pedestrians.
A compatible mobile phone plug-in is available in case the rider needs a GPS (global positioning system) guide via a mobile phone when the battery power is running out.
Hu was so pleased with his redesigned X-Zoomer scooter that he decided to share it with others.
"Pushing one's idea through manufacturing is an art of compromise"
"It occurred to me that the general disconnect between industrial design and mechanical design in China could offer X-Zoomer a great opportunity in the scooter market," Hu said. "I realized it could be marketed as the first green, user-friendly and stylish scooter in China."
Eager to proceed, Hu took the design plan of X-Zoomer to a licensed original equipment manufacturer in Jiangsu Province in early 2010.
The industrial application process proved to be bittersweet.