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A Seabird 3 console on a ship's bridge, teal front panel lit, open sea through the windows.

Seabird 3

A modular bridge console for professional vessels, developed with Elpro Solutions AS.

A sixth-semester project with Elpro Solutions AS, redesigning their bridge consoles for professional vessels. The result is a robust, flexible and ergonomic console system designed for production, operation and the sea.

I worked in a team of three, across all phases. I developed the overall form language, the visual concepts and renders, and designed the configurable handles.

Client
Elpro Solutions AS
Course
Design 6: Futures, NTNU
Team
Benjamin James Granrud, Tord Agndal Østmo
Supervisor
Trond Are

Identifying Elpro’s competitive edge

We started by understanding Elpro’s position in the market, through site visits, user interviews and a visit to their factory. The goal was to modernise the design while improving production efficiency and user ergonomics.

A vessel's existing bridge console, annotated by hand: unreachable controls, unreadable in heavy seas.An officer reaching across the old console, annotated to show how far the controls sit from the seat.

Improving layout, usability and manufacturing

We translated insight into decisions through sketching, form studies and prototyping, working against three problems: poor ergonomics for the end user, too many parts, and expensive production. The process was iterative, with continuous feedback from Elpro and their engineers.

A run of sketchbook pages: console form studies, proportion tests and assembly ideas.

A robust, modular bridge console, ready for production

Robust, ergonomic and visually solid, suited to hard conditions at sea. A fully modular, parametrically driven system that simplifies production and adapts to what each vessel needs.

  1. Three handle profiles studied side by side, from a full grip to a low-profile bar.

    01

    Interchangeable handles

    Handles are detachable rather than built into the structure, so they can change in shape, size and placement. Since they are rarely used actively, we kept low-profile options that leave the form language intact.

  2. Exploded view of the console showing how few major parts it breaks down into.

    02

    Fewer parts

    Simplifying the construction cut the part count sharply against the previous model. Less assembly time, lower cost, and a more maintainable product.

  3. Close-up of the screw joint that replaces a welded seam between two panels.

    03

    No welding

    The console is screwed together instead of welded. Faster to produce, easier to take apart, and more consistent from unit to unit.

  4. The console drawn with dashed construction lines and 1800 and 1500 mm dimensions driving its width.

    04

    Parametric model

    A parametric 3D model lets Elpro's engineers generate a customised layout by adjusting a few dimensions, keeping every variant consistent.

Close-up of the console top: instrument screens, controls and the teal front panel.

Thanks to Elpro Solutions AS for the opportunity and the trust, to Benjamin James Granrud and Tord Agndal Østmo for the collaboration, and to our supervisor Trond Are for the guidance along the way.