Colloquia

Summary

This thesis addresses the design of a front seat for a new bicycle concept developed by VanRaam. While VanRaam is highly experienced in producing specialized bicycles, the specific knowledge required for designing the seat for this particular model was limited. The primary goal of this project was to design a front seat tailored to the needs and preferences of the intended end users. To achieve this, the design thinking process, with its iterative and user-centered approach, served as the foundation of this thesis. Multiple iterative steps were undertaken to validate whether insights from literature on ergonomics, safety, stigma, stability, and aesthetics could be effectively applied to this specific context.

The design process encountered several challenges, particularly in involving users directly in the development stages. To address these, different seat functionalities were tested individually before being integrated into a prototype for comprehensive user testing. This prototype was built upon an existing seat model and incorporated key features aimed at providing a comfortable and stable cycling experience—factors deemed most crucial by the target users. In parallel, a conceptual exploration of the seat’s aesthetics was conducted, resulting in a final conceptual design that balances aesthetics with functionality. The outcome of this study is a set of design requirements that will guide the future development of the seat for VanRaam.