I co-founded Raiden NYC, a fashion technology company focused on bike accessories. As bike geeks, we saw a problem that needed attention - Owning a bike light is mandatory in the US since it is illegal and unsafe to bike without it. However, bike lights are easily stolen, misplaced and forgotten by cyclists. After 6 months of research, we designed, prototyped an MVP and tested it with fellow cyclist. After we gathered feedback and iterated several times, we pitched this idea to investors in order to raise funds to get the product in production.
Since RaidenNYC was a collaborative effort, our roles were very flexible and interchangeable. I was personally in charge of many areas such as: designing the e-commerce website, making the digital and printed marketing materials, creating the look and feel of the product and conducting user tests.
Challenge
Our challenge was to:
Make a bike light that is fashionable in order for cyclist to integrate it in their everyday life as an accessory.
Make the bike functional, easy to use and safe
How can we design a bike light that you can transport at any time by being both fashionable and functional?
Raiden is lifestyle accessory for the every day commuter. It is bright for its small size and is multi-functional in it's wearability. The leather straps combined with metal encased circuitry is a new aesthetic that users respond to enthusiastically
Defining The Target Audience
Commuters
Bike enthusiasts
Early tech adopters
Fashion enthusiasts
Leather enthusiasts
High end consumers
Safe consciences
Designing The Concepts
can place bike light on their helmetUser
Users can place the bike light on their wrist
Users can place the bike light on her/his handle bar
User can place the bike light on her/his back seat
Prototypes and Iterations
During the making of RaidenNYC we created several prototypes and iterations:
Paper prototype of the enclosure with electronic components
Acrylic prototype of the enclosure after laser cutting
Sketches
Bike light attachment mechanisms ideas
Renderings
We collaborated with engineers to miniaturize the circuit board, create technical drawings and renderings of our product
Metal encasement, circuit board, magnets and battery
