When Will Electric Scooters Look This Good? The Day Someone Buys Qui's Designs

And what better way to propel yourself around town than with electric scooter? Aside from being seemingly eco-friendly, these once-considered-toys have now become a staple of our everyday commute (for those that can afford one).

However, don’t worry about fighting over this design, as the Qui scooter does not exist except on some hard drive or server. Sadly, it’s just a design concept meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers to build something this appealing.

Now, this design springs from the mind of one Rice Mak, an industrial designer and graffiti artist from Guangzhou, China. Hold on a minute, are you telling me that a graffiti artist made this beautifully simple, elegant, and minimalist design? Yup. It seems that our suspicions were true, we need to consider graffiti as an established art. My next question would be, what are they feeding these kids out there? But we kind of already know the answer and no, it's not bats.

Back to the scooter, I invite you to have a nice long look at the gallery before continuing to read this article. You probably won't return to the text, because what would be the point? If, however, you do choose to continue reading, good for you. It’s always nice to expand your vocab. I'm just not sure I'm the guy for that job, though.

Most concepts we feature on this site also include some sort of technological ideas as well, but not the Qui. It’s simple and electric, and has motors, batteries, and brakes. That’s all you need, really. But the visual appeal, folks, that’s where things get juicy. We can start at the top of it all and undress it down to the wheels.

The handlebars and steering column are perfectly shaped to wrap your thumbs around; maybe give a little squeeze or two to heat things up? Or rather a push of a button? Thumb throttles it is! The only other components we see include the ignition button and power-level indicators, as well as the internal cable routing. Once we follow the column all the way down to the front wheel, we find an easy-release clip along the way that allows the Qui to fold and be stored easily in the trunk of your car.

As for the footboard, it slides into view with smooth lines unbroken by added components such as wheel fenders or battery packs. Over the rear wheel, we see the classic-style braking fender and even a taillight. My personal assumption is that not just the rear wheel includes a motor - the front, too. Why? Because they look exactly the same.

If a motor is also housed in the front wheel, then things will get interesting fast. One thing that really felt odd from the moment I laid eyes upon this trinket was that front wheel. Look at it: it’s all backwards. Actually, it isn’t. The designer chose to do this because it offers a more symmetrical feel to the overall base design, but also for functionality reasons. By placing the wheel in a sort of embrace, the flowing lines of the steering column aren’t interrupted, and the wheel can pivot 360-degrees.

As I said earlier, don’t go reaching for your credit card as this wild unicorn is and will remain just a rendering meant to inspire the next e-scooter manufacturer.