NIKE's biketown 'wraps' celebrate black history month with traditional african designs

in celebration of black history month, the NIKE-sponsored bike share system, biketown, released its first ‘culture collection’— a fleet of bikes designed by company color designer marcellus johnson. the five biketown bikes are be available in portland, oregon, and feature a wrap design, inspired by NIKE’s 2019 black history month collection.

images courtesy of NIKE

according to a biketown press release, the designs are meant to celebrate ‘multiple dimensions of the african diaspora by bringing together patterns from different african countries into one modernized print through color and geometry.’ taking inspiration from traditional african designs and images the wraps feature an original collage including a west african kente cloth pattern on the bike basket.

‘the black history month bike wrap design is a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect our city’s creativity and rich african-american culture, and to highlight our commitment to celebrating a diverse and inclusive portland,’ said karol collymore, senior manager, global community impact, oregon at NIKE.

the small fleet kicks off biketown’s year-long culture collection, a series of wraps rolling out throughout the year that highlight the communities and cultures of portland. it also plans to release a book that maps out african american-owned businesses that are located near biketown stations. it will be made available for free at the featured locations.

project info

manufacturer: NIKE/biketown