Project
Pulsar
Overview
A D&AD challenge to create a branded bike hire scheme for a chosen city. Set in Helsinki, where Kaamos (November–February) brings prolonged darkness affecting 85% of adults, the concept is a glow in the dark bike share system designed to improve visibility, safety and mood during the darkest months.
Expertise
Brand Personality
Identity
Ambient Media
Product Design
THE SOLUTION
I created Pulsar, a glow in the dark bike share system designed to make Helsinki more navigable and engaging during Kaamos. Inspired by pulsars, rotating neutron stars that emit beams of light, the concept translates this into an urban experience. As bike wheels turn, they emit a continuous glow, transforming each rider into a moving point of light within the city.
The Pulsar logo reflects contrast, created through light painting photography, it is physically drawn using light itself, capturing movement and energy. This idea of glow forms the foundation of the entire brand. A bold, luminous colour palette ensures high visibility while creating a distinctive identity. Glow in the dark elements and lines of light are applied across bikes, docks, wayfinding and posters, linking touch points and guiding users intuitively.
The Pulsar app brings all services together. Users can hire and pay for bikes, track availability, plan routes and monitor a real-time “light gauge” indicating surrounding darkness levels. Together, these elements reimagin darkness as something to move through with confidence.
Mission Statement + Tagline
Brand Values
THE LOGO
The Pulsar logo combines three concepts: contrast, sun/moon, and glow. It emphasizes the idea of glow through light painting photography, using the circular sun/moon form and contrasting light and dark with brush strokes. The hand-rendered type complements this, creating a free-flowing representation of how light and glow form naturally.
represents the glow from the sun & moon
smile = arms
THE BIKES
The bike is designed to be functional in both daylight and darkness with the use of LumiLor, a rechargeable electric glow paint allowing the bikes to glow in the dark. Each bike features a white front and red rear wheel mimicking a cars lighting, along with a glowing red suspension and handlebars to ensure visibility from various angles.
The docking stand features Pulsar's animated logo, appearing as if floating, resembling the moon. The dock's design incorporates a section of the logo on the panels, creating the entire logo when the bike is docked.
AMBIENT MEDIA
To enhance safety and visibility, glowing bike lanes and signs were developed. Unlike traditional bike lanes and signs, these utilise the brand's glow line detail, with signs incorporating the glow lines to create arrows indicating cycling directions.
