Brief
Helmet 2.0
A New Helmet for New Mobility
The Problem
Over the past decade, we have been seeing a massive shift in mobility worldwide, particularly in more urban environments. Cities are limited vehicles in high-density, countries are starting to implement new standards to curb pollution, and the private market is responding with public bike shares, powered scooters, motorized skateboards and much more.
As these new mobility solutions have entered the landscape we have seen a reduction in the use of helmets. This is particularly true for on-demand solutions where as many as 80-98% of riders don’t wear helmets for several reasons.
Availability - Grabbing a bike or scooter are usually unplanned trips, so most people don’t think to bring a helmet with them when leaving the house.
Convenience - Helmets are rigid and take up a large volume of space in a backpack or carry-on, and don’t fit in any messenger bags at all so keeping one with you can be a challenge.
Style - While important and effective, it’s nearly universally accepted that helmets don’t look great.
What if we designed a new type of helmet that addresses these problems?
The Ask
For this project, we are asking you to re-imagine the helmet. Creating a new type of helmet suitable for keeping riders of low-speed, manual or lightly powered (e-bike, electric scooter) mobility safe, while at the same time solving for convenience and style.
We are looking for your expertise, imagination, and ingenuity to experiment with new materials and form factors and create the next generation of the bike helmet. Helmet 2.0.
Product Requirements
Your helmet design should meet the following requirements.
- The design should have two form factors, expanded and collapsed.
- The helmet should be designed to meet CPSC Standards. (Found Here)
- The helmet should meet the following dimensions:
- Expanded Ratio: 1 x 1.33 x 1
- Collapsed Ratio: ¼ volume of expanded form
- Interior Size: 57cm (22.5in) circumference equating to a Size Medium
- Max Weight: 450 grams / 1 lb
Example Dimension Ratios
Design Principles
The following design principles provide broad guidelines that can inform your design and help direct your ideation.
Form and Function
The design should make the user feel like they look better for wearing a helmet and definitely not self-conscious.
Usable Everyday
This helmet should be designed for the casual everyday user, providing a basic level of safety and protection and a moderate amount of comfort.
Accessible to All
Price should not be a significant deterrent for the user if they find themselves in need of a helmet. We see this as a common good, not a luxury item. In a ideal situation, it could be purchased from a vending machine.
Cradle to Cradle
Modern helmets are meant to be disposed of after a single impact and with a limited lifespan before the foam degrades. Design with the end in mind as well.
User Personas
User personas provide a clear personality and person-type to help define the use cases and users that will be purchasing a product. These are not the only users, but they do represent the most common types. By designing for these personas we should encompass the broad majority of potential customers.
Crystal is a 37-year-old Account Manager for an advertising agency. She likes to spend weekend vacations on the beach with her boyfriend and would love to pick up a bike for cruising the boardwalk from one of the bike shares. Unfortunately, not having the right safety gear makes her reluctant to use them and a helmet won’t fit in her carry-on and so she tends to rent a car and pay for parking.
Crystal likes to use alternative mobility and wouldn't bother with a car if she had the right safety equipment that caters to her needs.
Jake is a 28-year-old Rails developer working on his startup in San Francisco. He works from a co-working space and meets with advisors, vendors, and potential customers outside of his office 4-8 times a week.
Jake is happy to walk, but for meetings further away he prefers the size and convenience of a motorized scooter. He doesn’t keep a helmet with him because it’s too bulky to carry in his bag when he takes the bus into the city, and honestly, he feels like he looks a little goofy wearing a bike helmet on a small scooter, though he knows that he should, especially after having a few close calls with cars and curbs over the last couple of weeks.
Jake would gladly wear a helmet if it didn’t take up too much room in his bag and would like something that looked a bit more modern.
Submission Guidelines
For your entry to be considered valid you must submit;
- A detailed written summary of your design, its function, materials you would use, and how it meets the design requirements and principles. (min 500 words)
- Renderings of your design from multiple angles both expanded and collapsed with a minimum size of 2000px wide. (min 6 images)
- An STL version of your 3D Model
Your final submission must be created using 3D Modeling or CAD software.
Judging Criteria
Submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:
- How well your design solves the problem
- Completeness of the Entry
- How well it meets the Product Requirements
- How well your design aligns to the Design Principles
- Feasibility of your design
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