Design a promotional message

By On February 10, 2011 · 8 Comments

If you were asked to design a poster, postcard, flyer, or what have you, to promote bicycling, what would you create?

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A photo of my sister riding a bicycle in Chicago alongside the text, “I want to get in shape, waste less time, and save money.” Similar to Mikael’s “The bike, think about it.”

No one asked me to design the poster above. Mikael Colville-Anderson of Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic (who I met in January 2011) is constantly reimagining car advertisements and plastering cheeky messages on photos. I created this to expand my creativity, use computer software I rarely try out, as well as promote one of the answers to a lot of problems, be they personal, environmental, or social.

I don’t think there’re enough positive messages about bicycling being spread in media or in our media-filled physical environment – we see the opposite. If you watched the Super Bowl commercials on Sunday (or online today), you’d have seen Audi’s “Green Police” arresting people for not recycling or for driving something other than their “clean diesel” car. Audi advertised the same “clean diesel” car in a different commercial that suggested bicycling was difficult and degrading, and probably only done while it’s raining.

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To promote bicycling as the cure to what ails us, Mikael designed this poster of a patch kit and the text, “The bicycle. Fixing broken cities. You’re welcome.”

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Mikael and I posing for a shot next to hand and foot rail for cyclists after riding our bikes around Copenhagen after sipping some beer and eating expensive, but tasty, hamburgers.

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Promoting bicycling doesn’t always need a narrative message, though. This poster for the great people of San Francisco identifies each neighborhood by a kind of bicycle. The funniest one is the exercise (stationary) bike for Castro. Think about the neighborhoods in your city – which one would a fixie represent and which one would get the cargo bike?

One of my favorite messages is apparently quite old: Put some fun between your legs.

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  • http://jqr.posterous.com Jonathan R

    Great post, very inspiring. I will let you know what I come up with.

    • http://www.stevevance.net/planning Steven Vance

      I can’t wait to see it.

  • Lynn Stevens

    Patch kit one doesn’t work unless you’re already a cyclist and would recognize the image. Like Bikes of SF one from a design standpoint, but again its appeal would probably be to existing cyclists.

    There’s a difference between promoting a particular kind of car to existing drivers and changing behavior/promoting the act of cycling to non-cyclists. Might have to look more toward public service type campaigns, i.e. Don’t be a litter bug or the more recent It gets better.

    • http://www.stevevance.net/planning Steven Vance

      Thanks for the tip about the differences in promotional messages. I will have to think about the audience more when crafting new messages.

      I don’t think any message will help someone overcome their resistance to cycling if it’s based on their perception of its safety. There has to be a more palpable change, like different infrastructure, or visibly (on the street) high numbers of cycling.

      • Lynn Stevens

        Your’s probably did the best job on this front.

        • http://www.stevevance.net/planning Steven Vance

          As I type this, I’m sitting with two designers to get some more ideas and inspiration on how to make this better. And I’m getting their assistance on another bicycling-related project.

          Maybe a different photo, maybe some different text.

  • Lee
    • http://www.stevevance.net/planning Steven Vance

      No, I had no idea!

      Mine will be free for anyone to download and print. I want to make some postcards of mine. I’m working with some people right now to make it shine.