GE SONG

Harping is a bike rack design project in collaboration with the local BIA. 

Harping is designed for the Annex area near Bloor St in Toronto. In finding pain points of the existing bike rack design in that area, and exploring the user experience, I discovered many criteria, as well as aesthetic design requirements about it. The important design factors are improving the security for bikes and to add the convenience of holding heavy bags.

In observational research of bikes on the street, I noticed lots of bikes wheels had been stolen because they were not locked to the rack. The original bike racks were not able to lock multiple points at the same time. As an additional observation, since there are various stores and restaurants located on Bloor St, people often have shopping bags or a backpack making it awkward to lock the bike, as they need to move the backpack forward to reach the lock and key. 

I ideated many versions of bike racks with different functions and appearance, reiterating from those initial images. I also made several paper mock-ups to test usability. After many times redesigning, the final version bike rack became resolved in the harp-like form as the right lower corner shows.

This is the final version of the bike rack that resembles a harp. This elegance is why it is called Harping. The following images explained its functionality and usability.

This image shows how they work on Bloor St.