Boredkid preexisted on its own as an artistic quest, motivated by the desire to explore the theme of identity and its interconnectivity with my environment.

I created Boredkid Utilities organically, from the desire to wear my bike helmet, and wanting to try out painting. At the time I decided that the helmet would be my canvas.

It was primarily (and shall always be) about expression.

An encounter with locals in the streets of Amsterdam made me realize that the implications of this creation could potentially address a major pain point experienced by urban cyclists : the perception of bike helmets preventing them to ride safely in the streets.

How to proceed now? Had to come up with a main concept, "drop me your helmet, I’ll give it back to you in your image".

Then what?

• Experimenting : designing helmets for friends to emulate their identity through my lenses and iterate on my creative process
• Finding and understanding the target audience
• Identifying my shortcomings : how to connect creatively and nurture my process with people I know nothing about?

Biking being my main way of transportation in Paris, I started shadowing the people commuting by bike, looking for clues.
Who wears their helmet, who doesn’t? what they look like? who tries to stylize it? How? What does it say about them?

Three main categories started to emerge :

• Cyclists over 25 years old wearing their helmets, mostly riding premium bike rental services
• Cyclists decorating their helmets with stickers, regardless of age (includes children on the passenger seat)
• An overly high amount of teenagers, young adults, barely wearing one

Market research supplemented those observations stating that the biking helmets market is consistently growing in France, (projected to value around 66M by 2033, valued at 43M in 2023), supported by governmental actions to promote cycling in urban areas.

With this expanding ecosystem, it urges the question of road safety, considering that in 2023, 58% of cyclists killed in urban area were not wearing a helmet.

This informations was solid ground in its own right, but that wasn’t enough for me to understand their motivations and their frustrations. Plus I had to confront my concept to measure its reception by the public.

That is when the Warehouse Market Paris event came through, a fashion popup taking place in Paris 11, stemming from the collaboration between a Parisian graphic design studio and an Amsterdam-based collective exploring interdisciplinary fashion practices.

This event would allow me to display some helmets I made for my friends, possibly make sales, and mostly to create dialogue with my alleged target audience, and readjust from the learnings.

To address my shortcomings (how to connect with people I know nothing about?), I came up with a « Manufacturating Order », a piece of branded paper that would allow me to map out the tastes and quirks of my potential clients. And to spark a conversation about the overall approach behind Boredkid Utilities. I also came up with a suggestive price (180€) to measure their perception of the product and concept.

• Do they even wear their helmets? Why?
• Is the psychological price too high for potential early adopters that already own a helmet?
• Does the concept transcends that hypothetical barrier?

• Seductive concept with verbatims from non cyclists alluding to pick up biking.
• Cyclists are aware of their dissonance regarding not wearing helmets, but can’t find a way around it (yet).
• Concerns with price, regardless of owning a helmet.
• Due to high interest, some models could be duplicated.
• Needs further storytelling throughout the concept to communicate personal value.

Afterwards, I conducted a set of interviews with urban cyclists to consolidate the learnings from the event (contact me for more information).

Evoking craftsmanship mixed with industrial utilitarian aesthetic and vibrant touch of street art.

With more material to consolidate an offer that will address concerns and frustration points with more accuracy, and the desirability of the concept being attested, it was now crucial to integrate the overarching theme of identity throughout every step moving forward; from gathering a receptive community to building a MVP.

For the look and feel of the overall platform, down to its iconography, the intent is to emulate the pre-existent branding. Evoking craftsmanship mixed with industrial utilitarian aesthetic and vibrant colors.

The website is still currently under (Webflow) development, but feel free to visit the landing page when the landing page is deployed.

• Newsletter subscription
• Custom process conversion rate
• Subscription + conversion post event
• Cart abandonment rate
• Bounce rate

• Usability testings on the upcoming platform
• Optimization of production costs
• Settle in a permanent workshop