The 2010 teams were challenged to design for cyclists in underserved communities of Chicago, and envisioned good design for the cyclists who get ignored too often in our city.
One team chose to develop things to help Latino women cyclists, another focused on making cycling easier and safer for immigrants. Three teams chose to take different turf - Northside, Southside, and Westside - designing for young adults who have adopted street BMX as a way to get out, have fun, and - as several of these guys said - "stay out of trouble".

For 2009, we worked with Dutch bicycle maker De Fietsfabriek, and Chicago bike accessory maker Po Campo, to develop enabling accessories that their companies could produce that make cycling easier for Chicago riders. We will also developed a multi-purpose cart for Shop Columbia, to promote the store, and other school organizations.

The 2009 project was mentioned in this Momentum article about Po Campo.

The 2008 student teams collaborated with four Chicago businesses to explore potential bike-based services. Each business was assigned a student team to develop a tailored design solution to their potential bike-based service.

In 2007, we worked with the Department of Transportation and Chicago Bike Federation to increase public bike use in the city. A bikesharing program, commuter kit, bike paramedic pannier, concepts for CTA, and mobile repair trailer were developed.

PRESS

2008 project in Chicago Progress Examiner

Letter from Kevin Henry, Coordinator, Product Design, Columbia College Chicago