Students from the Product Design and Graphic Design degree programmes at IED Kunsthal Bilbao collaborated with Orbea, a historic Basque company and an internationally recognised leader in the cycling industry, on a project imagining what bicycles might look like in 2040, coinciding with the company’s upcoming 200th anniversary.
News
IED Kunsthal Bilbao and Orbea Imagine the Bicycle of the Future Together with the Next Generation of Designers
Date
29 May 2026
What will the bicycle look like fifteen years from now? What role will artificial intelligence, personalisation, and the relationship between technology and nature play in the future of mobility? These are some of the questions explored by students at IED Kunsthal Bilbao through a project developed in collaboration with Orbea to imagine the bicycles of the future.
The project began with the design and prototyping of a series of bicycle frames by students from the Bachelor of Arts in Product Design. Students from the Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design then took over, developing visual identities, graphic systems, apparel and interfaces that expanded the visual and experiential universe of each bicycle. A cross-disciplinary collaboration that brought together product design, visual communication and user experience.
The proposals explored topics such as artificial intelligence applied to mobility, biomimicry, personalisation, and the integration of bicycles into future urban and natural environments. “We have seen a great deal of work focused on the experience of riding a bike and on how people engage with it,” said Xabier Albizu, Head of Industrial Design at Orbea.
The final presentation provided an opportunity for students to share their proposals directly with professionals from the company, creating a space for dialogue around design, innovation and new ways of thinking about mobility.
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