Design with the Majority

The Collaborative Design of a Cargo Bicycle for Uganda

Jason A. Morris, IDSA, Assistant Professor of Industrial Design | Western Washington University

Introduction

This paper describes the exciting and rewarding process of designing a bicycle in collaboration with Ugandan bicycle couriers. The design was developed over a period of two years through a team of Ugandan advisors with an American designer (the author). A prototype was created and brought to Uganda for three weeks. He met daily with the Ugandan couriers, tested the bicycle, and discussed revisions and improvements. The project’s subject was the bicycle design, but the research objective was to learn what it means to design for the people of a very different culture and economic environment. Valuable lessons were learned regarding the design of products for people of developing nations.

File attachments: 

Design With the Majority-Bicycle for Uganda.pdf