Context

Bjorn Bikes approached me with a business idea, to develop a sustainably driven bike with the intention to further develop eco-friendly bike components.

The business proposition came out of frustration towards the unsustainable practices of the bike industry. An idea which Dennis Beare—an industry insider with over 10 years of experience—had while seeking to solve its direct approach to performance bikes.

The Challenge

Design and deliver a brand to market which uses only recycled materials, offsets all carbon emissions, and answers the needs of performance orientated cyclists and mountain bikers.

My Role

• Creative Direction

• Market Research

• Brand Identity Design

• Iconography

• Web Design

• Photo Manipulation

Tools

• InDesign

• Photoshop

• Illustrator

• Adobe XD

Process

Market research was conducted in order to determine the look and feel of the brand. Competitor analysis from within and outside the industry led the client and myself to iterate several design concepts.

Brand Identity

The brand we found that best represented Bjorn was Land Rover. A utilitarian vehicle company with deep roots among adventure and military enthusiasts. The brand identity had to appeal to all demographics and ages, across the world, as well as suit bike frames and components. The result was a brand identity that exuded performance and grit, all the while staying true to its environmental focus.

Proposal

Bjorn Bikes pitched its proposal to Taiwan in the hopes that it would explore sustainable products and manufacturing processes.

Bjorn’s pitch succeeded in manufacturing a prototype from 60% recycled stainless steel, updating existing manufacturing processes which ensure little to no excess waste, and aluminium forks with eco-friendly paint.

With the prototype bike being tested for several months, brand traction began with a fleet of the first models going into production. I worked with Bjorn Bikes to develop their brand guidelines and a sustainable bike box using only recycled paper, inks, and glue.

Website

Bjorn Bikes is an online, direct to consumer, bike brand. This allows Bjorn to meet its environmental goals and ensure little to no carbon emissions. By distributing its bikes from the factory, directly to online retailers in Germany and the US, Bjorn can focus its business strategy on sustainable product development, social and digital marketing. Bjorn’s website was designed as a shop front for Canada, and to provide a point of contact for consumers seeking more information on Bjorn’s sustainable objectives.

Iconography

Iconography was designed to communicate the benefits of Bjorn’s bike and products.

Merchandise

Delivering a soft goods line to coincide with the launch of the bike was the next step in maintaining brand traction. Recover Brands, a North American company producing apparel from discarded water bottles and cotton, was the ideal choice for the apparel. Recover’s colours and fabric textiles coincided with the look and feel that Bjorn was after. The apparel designs were to be fun and enjoyable, communicating the love for riding your bike, while bringing awareness to Bjorn Bikes.

Advertising and Marketing

Bjorn Bikes message is to inspire more people to get out and ride rather than drive, simply because they love their bike. This company motto is at the heart of Bjorn’s advertising and marketing.

Product & Packaging

Bjorn Bikes is driven to produce sustainable product alternatives within the bike industry. A perfect example of this is the Bjorn grip. Grips are a dispensable product when it comes to biking. Bjorn’s goal was to produce a sustainable grip, which would encourage the industry to reduce its use of rubber, all the while maintaining a high end quality.

Using the brand mission statement—Sustainably Driven, Performance Focused— which we developed, we produced a grip design with the same performance attributes as a high end MTB grip, made entirely from post-industrial rubber. The retail package is designed from 100% recycled paper, and grips purchased online come pre-packaged within an eco-friendly mailer, which can be sent directly from the manufacturer.

Takeaways

Bjorn Bike’s brand development is continuously evolving with the grips in production, the first fleet of Bjorn’s sold and the updated frame models approved for production. Bjorn’s brand presence is gaining traction in the mountain biking and gravel bike world.

Bjorn’s sustainability targets are on track, with 2 tonnes of carbon emissions captured so far, and over 70 trees planted.

Photography by Rueben Krabbe.