Portland Art Museum to host panel on bicycle product design

Top: Phillip Ross, Metrofiets (L), Dan Powell, Portland Design Works.
Bottom: Shannon Holt, Oregon Manifest (L), Steve McCallion, Chrome Industries.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

The Portland Art Museum’s cycling summer is still going strong. As part of their Cyclepedia exhibit that features the amazing bicycles of the Michael Embacher collection, PAM will host a panel discussion this Thursday titled, Made in Portland: Design for 21st Century Urban Cycling.

PAM sees good product design as one way to increase the appeal of cycling in Portland and to achieve our goal to have 25% of all trips made by bike by the year 2030. Here’s more from the event flyer:

This panel will discuss how bike design is inspiring city dwellers to turn to cycling as a primary mode of transportation in and around town. Some of Portland’s leading bicycle designers will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Portland’s bike community and industry at large.

The panelists include: Phillip Ross of Metrofiets, a Portland-based cargo bike maker; Dan Powell, co-owner of Portland Design Works, an accessory company; and Shannon Holt, a graphic designer and lead organizer of Oregon Manifest. Steve McCallion, president of Chrome Industries, an apparel and bag company based in San Francisco, will moderate the panel.

This should be an interesting discussion. While I feel sometimes our society puts too much emphasis on acquiring products to do simple things like riding a bike, ones that are well-designed and functional can spur interest in an activity. For decades, we’ve seen automakers try to make cars into a must-have lifestyle accessory (they’ve succeeded for all but the last few years), now perhaps its the bike industry’s turn.

The event is free for museum members and $15 for non-members ($12 for students). See full event details and purchase tickets online.