Branding LYTE

Lyte is a solution for a new, farther-reaching, and more comprehensive full-frame LED bike light system. Lyte is to be paired with a digital application that allows for maximum customization for regular cyclists, commuters, and road bikers.

Goal: Answer the mechanical needs of consumers who need a full-frame bike light while basing our branding design on extensive research and testing.

The challenge was to develop a visual identity and website that reflected 1) increased consumer desire to customize bike light color palette, 2) light flashing speeds and brightness, as well as 3) a timed component to turn lights on or off as soon as the time of day changes.

The solution was to create a simple, elegant, and modern UI design based on our branding messaging workshop.

Illuminating the situation

We found 3 key features within the physical aspect of this project that distinguishes the product from others.

1. The LED light system covers the entire bike frame, which will improve biker visibility to the entire road environment, drivers, pedestrians, and other bikers.
   

2. In one of our interviews with a bike mechanic, we learned that drivers inherently look for headlights, and because bike lights are not quite as bright, there could be a higher probability of a driver not seeing a bike. Our light system will cover the back of the seat stays (the back bars of the bike that connect the top tube and the rear cassette,) which is important because it will simulate car tail lights.
   

3. In our research, we found that the ability to personalize a light system to match specific preferences would be highly valued by customers as there is such a high premium placed on product personality. This, along with the GPS tracking functionality, would be fully integrated with the companion app.

Core components & interface

The UI had to be simple, easy to understand, and as user-friendly as possible. In order to reinforce this metaphor for this ease of use and simplicity, we used a circle motif.

We integrated Google Maps in order to streamline the rider’s experience so that one would not need to open two programs at once. Users can customize how long they want their bike lights to be on, as well as set reminders to turn their lights on at a certain time of day.

Further customization of the Lyte itself so bikers can specify their preferred lighting style. The right screen shows a loading screen that will pop up that visualizes important laws that bikers may not know.

Challenges

Throughout this project, we experienced a couple of logistical problems that we had to solve conceptually. These problems included how ethical our solution was, as we did not want to encourage people to use the app while biking. This would defeat the purpose of our proposed solution. We proposed to solve this issue by including daily safety tips and a notification similar to the Waze app, where individuals can choose to have their phone set to unusable while riding and be able to continue to use while at a stop.

There is an astounding disparity between the levels of knowledge/familiarity among bikers, drivers, and pedestrians regarding the rules of the road and general safety. According to our survey questions, many responders expressed dissatisfaction with the current relationship between bikers and drivers, and in many of their answers, they mentioned visibility, education, and infrastructure as key crisis spots.

Through our user research and application creation, we believe we have begun to target some significant safety issues within the biking community. Inherently, a product like Lyte cannot substitute for critical infrastructural changes to the roads (such as bike lanes or more rigorous laws) as there is a huge bureaucracy around those systems, but through its use, bikers can become more physically visible and hopefully reduce the number of accidents in the area.