“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

Master's in 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

This project began with my personal experience: I became a frequent biker in Copenhagen and now ride daily in New York. The contrast between the two cultures inspired me to create a book that captures the essence of biking in both cities. I conducted research, field documentation, and interviews to understand how riders experience each environment.

Content Collection

Biking Past

Collecting History

I 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.

Information From: 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 former teacher, 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.”

Jeanette

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’s a distinct Copenhagen style that already exists, and I wanted to honor that while creating something structured, organized, and still fun.

Sketches

I began sketching different layouts, exploring where graphics could live and how the type could be organized on each page.

Biking Culture

Timeline