Style sutra: Wheels, reinvented by Lucid
A bicycle that fits in a backpack? design firm lucid have come up with just that
By : rohini nair
Update: 2014-08-16 23:19 GMT
What if there was a bicycle that was so small that it fits into a bag you could carry as a backpack? This was the question Bengaluru-based design firm Lucid wanted to answer when they began working on what is now called the “Kit Bike”. Conventional bikes are awkward in every way except when you ride them, but with this “bike in a bag”, transportation and storing the machine would not be an issue.
“We are biking enthusiasts,” admits Lucid’s creative director Amit Mirchandani. Amit has previously worked on another award-winning design for a unicycle called “Whisk”, as part of San Francisco-based design collective Lift.
In creating the Kit Bike, Amit and his team wanted a simple, minimal design that was easy to assemble and dissemble. They achieved this with simple twist joints that locked with hollow aluminium tubes, using a specially designed key. The Kit Bike has 21 parts in all, including the tires, belt (drive belt), seat, pedals and locking joints.
“The challenges we faced were trying to figure out a system that allowed the bike to be no larger than a wheel in size when dismantled,” says Amit. “I’ve ordered a few bicycles through web stores while living in San Francisco and each time, the box was about 4 feet wide and 3 feet tall. We thought there has to be a better way.”
It’s this principle finding a better way, that has propelled much of Lucid’s design work. Apart from what clients (which includes brands like Nike, Intel) come to them with, the ucid team also works on a proactive design programme at least every six months. This involves looking at the design of something everything in the team engages with (such as bicycles, for instance) and then coming up with a new perspective to it a perspective that isn’t necessarily tied down by market considerations and which can bring about an integration of newer technologies.
“We like looking at the design of everyday objects and (figuring out) how they can be better,” Amit explains. “Under this programme, we have worked on a device called ‘Lifehub’, which eliminates the need for eight other devices and de-clutters your life. We have also designed the Crank Case, a hand powered iPhone case that can add extra charge to the iPhone without having to plug into a socket!” These proactive design projects help the team to stay inspired and push the boundaries of design, and as Amit says, “hopefully inspire others as well”.
Lucid was earlier based out of San Francisco, but Amit relocated it to Bengaluru in 2009. The design landscape has evolved considerably in that time, which in turn has meant a greater appreciation and understanding of the work that multi-disciplinary firms like Lucid do.
“Five years ago in India it was hard to get people to understand the impact of design and the holistic nature of it. Companies wanted to believe that experiences were driven solely by the volume of communication and that all other touch points branding, website, packaging, spaces, everything including the product experience, were secondary. Design is a language of communication and every surface, font, material, experience, texture or form that you put out there says everything about who you are as a company whether your products are well made, trustworthy, customer focused, durable,” Amit says. “Today, the more progressive companies in India understand this, and what we do, and how it can define their future.”