Magnus Pettersen from Central Saint Martins took first in a brief set by the Design Council that asked students to “create a product, service or communication piece designed to specifically reduce crime”. The ‘BLABR_stand’ acts as both bike rack and meeting point, so that people gathering there also keep an eye on the bikes, thus deterring thieves.
Recycling bicycle projects are becoming more popular in the UK. An example in Swansea called Re-Cycle take donations of unwanted bikes, repair and refurbish them and pass them on to low waged people for £10/20. You can even trade three days labour, get trained up in the process, and then take home a bicycle for free.
Typically a second hand bicycle bought “down the pub” will cost £20-£40. Has Ian Williams of Re-Cycle inadvertently taken the legs away from the stolen bicycle market in Swansea?
In Spring 2006 Bikeoff commissioned Bold Creative to visualise our research into bike theft perpetrator techniques. Consultation with cyclists (including victims of bike theft), the police and bike thieves enabled Bikeoff to identify the most common methods used by bike thieves to steel bikes - also how to avoid them. Bold Creative animated the research and “used narration from highly credible sources to demonstrate a real understanding of the problem to successfully communicate a variety of preventative techniques”
Bikeoff and our partners have used the film to communicate this research and inform cycling stakeholders of what they’re up against.
‘Know the Enemy’ has been screened at numerous cycling advocacy events, the London Architectural Biennale, London Bicycle Film Festival, London Design Week, Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Duke of Yorks Cinema, Brighton and Hove as part of the cities drive against cycle theft. The animation has since been distributed on DVD and virally via Bluetooth and the net.
The finalists of the CityRacks Design Competition to design bike parking furniture for New York have been announced. We believe that Andrew Lang and Harry Dobbs ‘I ♥ NY’ entry should win as it encourages the user to lock their frame and both wheels in a similar fashion to our own caMden (M-Stand) stand. The stand also has a great New York feel, it is obviously influenced by the iconic I ♥ NY logo.
THORPE, A. and GAMMAN, L. (2007) Bikes: Home Safe? Domestic Storage and Other Creative Strategies to deal with Bike Crime, MA Industrial Design (Course Director: Ben Hughes), Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. The project included organising:
TdF rolls into town this weekend, all those lovely bikes! But for those of us not fortunate enough (or fast enough?) to have several bikes and a backup team to keep us on the road Bikeoff reminds you that if you love your bike then lock it up right - both wheels and the frame to an immovable object!
On the subject of loving your bike - this Sunday you can go down to the Design Museum on London’s South Bank and publicly declare your love for your ride. Cyclists will be filmed saying why they love their bikes. Design Museum, London, Sunday 8th July, 2007 http://www.designmuseum.org/talks.
Bikeoff did something similar on Valentines day earlier this year - see some of the results of ‘I love my bike because…’here.
THORPE, A. and GAMMAN, L. (2007) Domestic Bliss: Indoor Bike Storage, BA (Hons) Product Design (Course Director: Paul Sayers), Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. The project included organising:
• Project Introduction - 22.01.07
• Briefing - 29.01.07
• Interim Critique - 07.03.07
• Final Critique - 13.03.07
A brief was run with BA (Hons) Product Design that explored three themes:
1. how users interact with objects and their functions;
2. the impact that technology has on the method of interaction; and
3. impact of crime on object storage like bikes.
It asked designers to analyse how people ‘interact with and live with’ their bikes within a domestic environment and the problems and opportunities this creates to develop new experiences.
For further information (programme, venue directions etc) please see:
http://www.amiando.com/LBFFseminar.html
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