Bike Sharing Design & Communications
“When designing our bike share program in Milwaukee, we looked at the artwork and language used in dozens of other cities. The clarity and voice of Kevin’s work in Boulder proved to be our strongest source of inspiration, around which we based much of our visual and written communication.”
In my role as Marketing & Communications Director at Boulder B-cycle, I have redesigned every piece of our end-user information from the ground up, within the constraints of an existing brand identity.
A few examples of these updates are below. Use the controls to compare my updates with the original pieces.
Rider Instructions
Misunderstandings of rate structures and other usage information can unfortunately be common in the fledgling bike sharing industry. Through my redesign process, I was able to bring the rate of misunderstanding of our fee structure for first-time riders from 10% down to 1%.
The instructional decal presented to all walk-up customers at Boulder B-cycle stations before purchase did not clearly explain our tiered pricing structure. Updates include a reduction in total word count, the use of color blocks to highlight critical information, and increased use of iconography.
Boulderbcycle.org
Boulder B-cycle's original website was not user-friendly. Most information was organized under a single menu item, and the most frequently-sought information was buried in obscure sub-menus. Updates include mobile-friendly configuration, increased multimedia use, ground-up reorganization, and improved calls to action.
Tour Cards
Prior to my arrival at Boulder B-cycle, no collateral existed to promote ridership among tourists and other visitors. These tour cards, inspired by travel posters of the early 20th century, were developed to give visitors ideas for where to ride while they were visiting Boulder.
Membership Mailers
Our original membership mailers were a simple letter and envelope. I designed an updated mailer from the ground up, which allowed for a more concise explanation of membership benefits, as well as a faster fulfillment process for staff.
System Maps
Our original maps provided both too much and too little information. Poor use of iconography resulted in imprecise display station locations, and an over-explanation of available bike routes confused riders unfamiliar with transportation jargon. Updates included changing iconography, simplifying the explanation of available bike routes, and removing irrelevant labels.