Bike Propaganda Posters

About This Project

Everyone remembers the day when they received their first bicycle. Your eyes lit up and you couldn’t wait to jump on and ride it. Maybe it was for a birthday, maybe for Christmas. Whatever the occasion is, this simple machine always has the same effect – putting a magnificent smile on the face of a young child. If you happened to live in the suburbs of Michigan in the 90’s, bicycles became “uncool” once you reached teen-hood. We can’t speak for the rest of the country but we’ve heard confirming stories from others that bicycles were also “uncool” for them. But times are changing and it seems that across the country the bicycle is slowly regaining its popularity.

LIVE THE BIKE LIFE

Here in Phoenix, Arizona biking is viable all year long. No snow to struggle through, no rain to create slick streets (well practically none) and no freezing cold temperatures to deter you from riding. Yes it can be warm in the summer, but overall Phoenicians have it pretty good. So biking is beginning to become “cool” again around the country and in Phoenix, but is there more to it than just being cool? Actually, yes. So much more that This Could Be PHX’s latest Envision Project was completely dedicated to biking. We want biking to be cool, but for the right reasons. Here are just a few:

• 69% of all trips in the US are less than two miles and easily bikeable
• 13 is the number of pounds that an average person loses in the first year of bike commuting
• $308 vs. $8,220 is the cost of operating a bike versus a car over the course of one year
• 20:1 is the factor that health benefits of cycling outweigh the safety risks by

These are just a few biking “cool” factors and there are many more. Like organizations for instance – the Phoenix Spokes People is an activist group helping to pave the way for a safe and lively bike community in Phoenix. Also, Phoenix is the newest city to receive a bike share program in the GRID Bikes system rolling out in the spring of 2014. Those are just some of the things happening in our city.

For some people the bike is their main mode of transportation. For others, it might only be used occasionally. Some people bike for exercise and others for leisure. Whatever your reason, hopping on a bike is a great way to spend your time.

BIKE PROPAGANDA

Adam Mann (SimplyAdamMann.com), a Phoenix graphic designer originally from Michigan, loves biking. You can see him riding his black State Bicycle everywhere Downtown. If he has to drive somewhere, you can be sure that he also has his bike in the back – just in case.  He has designed Pedal Craft posters for all three events.

This Could Be PHX was lucky enough to team up with him and have him design four more posters just for us. The theme was bike propaganda and the posters were designed to resemble old wartime propaganda posters. What better way to spread bike love than with propaganda? The posters were printed out and hung on the side of Eye Lounge for First Friday on January 3, 2014 while This Could Be PHX founders passed out informative postcards with biking stats. Afterwards, This Could Be PHX gave away the printed sets to the first people who posted photos of themselves biking in Phoenix on the This Could Be PHX Facebook page.

Go on…get back on that bike and ride!

Event Photo Credit: Sarah Roberts Photography