Oct 24, 2020

BIOMOTION - Designed by evolution, science & Fredrik. Safety focused rain clothing for road cycling.

Design inspiration, biomotion, waterproof clothing. Yes, every day and night we try to understand where our creative head of design Fredrik gets his ideas from. So, this month we thought, instead of guessing about the remarkable new rain clothing Sigr is releasing - let's ask him about how he integrated biomotion into the Sigr design thinking.

So first Fredrik, what on earth IS biomotion?

"It is the recognisable patterns of movement that characterise living things such as humans and animals. We have evolved a high sensitivity to these patterns over millions of years of evolution. For example when hunting for a particular animal or spotting a predator from a distance. Gunnar Johansson the Swedish perceptual psychologist documented the phenomenon of human sensitivity to biological motion way back in 1973. He realized that by highlighting moving parts that are involved in a particular pattern of movement, it grabs our attention much more than if the parts are still."

Example: Bio Motion with Sign Language

Fredrik, why is biomotion interesting for us cyclists?

"Needless to say, we like to be visible. Both daytime and night time. But we also want to look good when we ride. That's why I've challenged the Sigr design thinking from day one. How we can add cool effects that are also smart so when you ride, the moving parts light up with a specific hi-viz colour or reflective material."

Which parts of our bodies should have hi-viz colours or reflective materials?

"To be as visible as possible, especially for us cyclists, hips, knees, and ankles should have high-viz colours or/and reflective materials. Studies about biomotion visibility have shown that the most important parts are ankles and knees. However, to be as visible as possible those parts should be combined with a reflective vest or reflective jacket"

The cyclist on the left in the illustrated picture below shows where reflective or/and high-viz material should be placed on the body to be seen the most throughout the whole day. From left to right you see biomotion, pseudo-biomotion, non-biomotion, and all-black clothing configurations. Biomotion and pseudo-biomotion configurations were seen to bee significantly more visible for bicycling at night than non-biomotion or all-black clothing configurations according to a study about biomotion visibility.

The new rain jackets and rain trousers. What's so special about them?

"First of all, the new rain jackets and trousers have been designed so that cyclists will be seen 24/7. Hi-viz and reflective material has been added to the most biomotive places on a cyclist's body, i.e. on ankles and knees. The Östkusten and Västkusten jackets and pants are completely waterproof and the Östkusten jacket and pants come in a super visible yellow colour with ultraviz silver reflective panels, which the Västkusten also have. The result is increased safety around the clock because the feet and the front/back of your knee are in fact the first parts a car sees on a cyclist when wearing our new biomotion collection."