This graduation project concerns the prevention of bicycling head-injuries in the Netherlands, by overcoming the socio-cultural unwillingness and undesirability of non-sports oriented bicyclists to wear a helmet. Getting cyclists to wear bicycle helmets is a task that requires behavioral change as well as a shift in perception from society. The goal of this project is to develop a strategic bicycle helmet concept that changes people's and manufacturers' perceptions of what a bicycle helmet is and hopefully have an impact on helmet usage in the Netherlands. This concept is the result of research in the current and future bicycle helmet/ cycling context by doing market research, reviewing literature, interviewing stakeholders, analyzing trends and creating a future context map. In addition, quantitative user research was done in the form of an online survey, and qualitative user research was done through an emotion capturing exercise
Contextual research has pointed out that the current bicycle helmet market is oversaturated and has very little differentiation between products. Up to now, marketers and designers have been trying to sell bicycle helmets by emphasizing their functional product attributes which are primarily safety-related. However, research showed that safety is not an effective attribute to communicate to Dutch consumers. Instead, marketers and designers should focus on communicating the symbolical attributes of bicycle helmets and express/cater to the user's lifestyles. Using these guidelines, the Fabriqué helmet concept was designed for a target group called Bikes&Blazers. This target group consists of Dutch formally dressed urban cyclists that often ride E-bikes. The Fabrique helmet is influenced by several of the target group's fashion values and combines these into its visual design. This results in a helmet that fits the target groups' formal outfits and caters to their lifestyles. Lastly, several recommendations are given for how to market the Fabriqué helmet.