Designing for Demand - A growing need for designers
May 30th, 2008 by rlsorbe
While listening to David Trubridge discuss his approaches to design and sustainability last Tuesday night at
Sustainability in Wood and Metal, he spoke about the importance of the design process and portrayed a slide of London’s Urban Community Bike Program. The bikes he showcased in the slide were recycled and second hand bicycles (not the most sexy looking bikes, but more sustainable than new ones), used to create a biker friendly City and develop an effective transportation system. One of his points in this slide was to acknowledge the importance of design for function, and to meet the needs and demands for consumers. (while reusing materials where possible).
Urban bike sharing is in growing demand as fuel prices are increasing along with our carbon footprints. Leading our international industry for bike sharing design concepts and developments is Velib. They are a company based out of France that has successfully created programs in Paris and London. In the United States we have a number of smaller community sharing programs, and of the newest development on a larger scale is the Smart Bike DC, in Washinton, DC.
This subscription based bike share incorporates 10 innovative bike stations throughout the City. Each station incorporates a rental kiosk with a horizontal bike rack containing docking points. 
The kiosks are designed to process bicycle rentals, as well as transmit operational status of specific locations to the operations center and send diagnostic information to alert the central server. The bicycles themselves are based around the latest technological advances and innovative patents - meeting the criteria of simplicity, strength and comfort.
As Walk and Bike Month in Boulder begins this Sunday, I’d like to call attention to the bikes and bike rack designs throughout Boulder that display functional design that meet a growing demand, as we approach fuel and transportation challenges in our future. With bike repair workshops and information stations throughout this month, check out the different elements of functional design that has been embedded into each bicycle and it’s components.
Where else in Boulder have we met our growing needs and demands through design technologies? What are demands that our creatives and designers can work towards in designing for Boulder’s future?
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I have done some investigating on Bikes, Bike Programs, and Bike Rack designs . Below are some of the links I thought might be worth checking out:
Walk & Bike Month:
Boulder Walk and Bike Month
Walk and Bike Month Event Calendar
Community Cycles
Go Bike Boulder - Bike Resources (link)
2008 Bike to Work Day (JUNE 25)
Bike Design:
Bicycle Design Blog
Clever Cycles
Bike Programs:
Directory of Community Bike Programs - Colorado
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