“To men, the bicycle in the beginning was merely a new toy, another machine added to the long list of devices they knew in their work and in their play. To women, it was a steed upon which they rode into a new world.”

School

Parsons School of Design

Program

Masters Communication Design

Course

Typography & Visual Design

Overview

The assignment was to create a book using the methods and practices we learned in the course. We could pick any subject matter to create the book. It was supposed to be an already existing text, but I came up with a different concept.

Concept

I came up with the idea to create a book touching on biking culture in New York cs. Copenhagen. I began biking when I lived in Copenhagen, and now I bike in New York. You can imagine there are several differences. I wanted to capture some of the feeling of biking in each city. So I set out to research, document, and interview people for both cities.

Content Collection

Biking Past

Collecting History

I also researched the history of how bicycles were first integrated into each city and how their introduction began to influence social norms, infrastructure, and daily routines.

Sources Include: Museum of the City of New York, The New York Times, Royal Danish Library.

Reddit + Research

Collecting Vibes

To fill in gaps in my research, I turned to Reddit to understand how people in each city think about biking. Discussions covered everything from safety and advice to daily frustrations and cultural nuances. I also explored local bike shops in Copenhagen to learn more about the types of bikes available and the craftsmanship that goes into building them.

Culture

Collecting Images

For a few weeks, I observed the bike lanes in New York—walking alongside them and snapping photos of cyclists on both my phone and film camera. In Denmark, I asked my mentor, Jeanette, to capture similar images of bikes and riders—and she delivered beautifully. These observations helped me document who occupied the bike lanes in each city and how people interacted with them in their daily routines.

Interviews

I did hour long interviews with two people from Copenhagen and two people from New York about their experience with biking in each city. These were really fun and informative, and I learned about the difference in culture, and how that effects what we experience in the bike lane.

Christian

Structural Engineer, Daily Biker, Based in Copenhagen

“Mainly, it’s a cultural that we are true to authority, and we want to obey all the rules.”

Jeanetta

Retired Architect & Teacher, Frequent Biker, Based in Copenhagen

“But it is in our culture. It's something we are taught since we are born. My nephew’s son, a magnificent guy, he's 3 years old, he bikes around and he bikes even faster than me. Yeah, so it's in our culture. We grew up with biking.”

Lucas

Bartender & DJ, Frequent Biker, Based in New York City

“Everyone's literally just trying to survive. It's awful. I literally feel like it's safer to just bike as fast as I can in the city at all times, because then the stupid can't catch up to you.” ”

Becky

Nanny, Infrequent Biker, Based in New York City

“You get places quicker. During the summer, it was the best part of my day, because I would use it to go to work. I just get to explore different neighborhoods. And you can stop whenever you want, and check out a place that you like.

Ideation

NYC Moodboard

I wanted to capture the vibe of New York City. So I started by seeing what else other people had already put out there. I wanted to evoke the chaos, joy, and lawlessness of the bike lane.

Copenhagen Moodboard

There is a distinct Copenhagen style that already exists. I wanted to include that, but also create something that felt structure, organized, but also fun.