Josse de Bruijne

Bike Parking Gemeente Amsterdam

Commissioned by Gemeente Amsterdam
In a team with Mijksenaar

The joy of riding a bike in Amsterdam is admired all over the world. However, finding a good parking spot is not always easy: Amsterdam has more bikes than inhabitants and the space to park them is very limited.

For some years now, I consult and design for the Bike Parking Team of the City of Amsterdam on solutions that make bike parking as easy and intuitive as possible. Keeping the needs, thoughts and (dis)abilities of all stakeholders in mind, solutions have to be designed that serve them all. This can be done through graphic design, words or complete strategies.

The graphic system is an ever-evolving family of shapes, words and colours that aims to be as simple as possible; the attention span on the street is very limited and visual competition is high. This calls for clarity and simplicity at the highest level. To maintain order on the streets of Amsterdam, the city has to be strict, but still the strategy is very much based on telling what is possible rather than telling what is not — a pleasant 180º turn from the harsh tone of voice we usually encounter on street signs.