ryan luce
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BIKETOWN PDX

Portland’s first city-wide bike-share program needed every rider touch-point—bikes, kiosks, vehicle wraps, signage, swag, and digital ads—ready for a fixed launch date. All we had from Nike was a bike mock-up, a logo, a color palette, and a typeface. The task: transform that starter kit into a fully-fledged design system that could scale across dozens of hardware types and still feel unmistakably “Nike × Portland.

 
 

Role: Lead Creative (UX • Visual Design • System Strategy)
Company: Motivate (then the largest bike-share operator in North America)
Sponsor: City of Portland × Nike
Scope: Brand extension, design-system build, multi-channel launch assets, vendor coordination

As lead creative, I owned the end-to-end design stream, partnering with our PM, city stakeholders, and multiple vendors to bring the system to life.

  • Systemized a minimal brand kit into a robust, outdoor-ready design language for kiosks, racks, vehicles, tents, and marketing collateral

  • Streamlined rider wayfinding by distilling kiosk instructions to the fewest, clearest steps—so first-time users could rent a bike in seconds

  • Delivered all launch assets: physical banners, brochures, swag, pop-up activations, digital ads, and full station graphics

  • Coordinated production with printers, fabricators, and hardware vendors to meet immovable deadlines

  • Future-proofed the system so later promotions and features could slot in without breaking visual or UX consistency

 
 
 
 

The Work

I translated Nike’s minimal guidelines into a comprehensive visual system that touched every physical aspect of BIKETOWN PDX. This meant crafting modular templates and design patterns for over 100 station components—kiosks, bike racks, wayfinding signs, tents, and banners—and ensuring they all shared the same bold orange accents and clean typography. I developed a flexible asset library so collateral—from large-format vinyl wraps to rider brochures—could be produced and installed quickly across the city. Working hand-in-hand with Portland Bureau of Transportation planners and print/fabrication partners, I navigated technical constraints (outdoor durability, installation tolerances) and met fixed launch deadlines. The result was a seamless, unified presence that made every meeting point unmistakably “Nike × Portland” and ready for riders on day one.

 
 
 
 

results

The BIKETOWN launch exceeded expectations on both performance and buzz:

  • 13,402 rides taken in the first week, with 1,640 annual memberships signed in that same period

  • 150 founding riders celebrated the inaugural ride across the Tilikum Crossing bridge

  • Extensive local media coverage praising Portland’s “fiscally responsible” and self-sustaining model

  • Organic social buzz as riders shared photos of the bold orange fleet and branded stations

Seeing 13,402 rides in week one—and 1,640 new members onboard—proved that strategic design and flawless execution can turn a decade-old idea into a community cornerstone. By building a unified visual system, creating clear printed guidance, and orchestrating every installation detail, we lowered barriers to adoption, sparked genuine enthusiasm, and cemented BIKETOWN as a true Portland institution.