Creating Identity

Loop is an online platform that helps cyclists find and share new ride routes. We believe in exploring the world on two wheels, and want to help cyclists everywhere ride new roads.

Tagline: Ride new roads.

Core purpose: Loop believes in exploring the world on two wheels. We help cyclists find, share, and plan new ride routes all over the globe.

Vision: To change the way cyclists ride.

Guiding Principles: Cycling is magic. We believe in making exploration more about new experiences than planning and stress. We believe a life lived on the bike is a life well lived.

Target Audience

The Loop user fits into one category above all else: they love to ride their bike. While they are passionate about exploring and traveling, their need to plan can make on the road decisions stressful and intimidating. They are keen to find ways to live life on their bike without getting bored of the same roads. Designed to be adaptable to many different needs, Loop is for anyone looking to find fun and challenging ride routes at home and abroad. The average user is 18-45 years old and varies in ability from competitive cyclists looking to train, to cyclists who are new to the sport. While Loop will launch first in the road cycling market, it has definite potential to expand into the mountain biking and touring industries due to our adaptable design and fluid interface. With a brand focusing on exploration rather than competition, Loop connects with the basic desire of all cyclists, to ride new roads.

Competitive Cyclists
Looking for new training routes.

Casual Road Riders
Seeking new roads to ride and explore.

New Cyclists
Looking for somewhere to start.

Competitors

With the global cycling market expanding rapidly in all directions, Loop’s unique position and understanding of the market places it well to succeed amongst other current offerings.

Strava Local

Strava Local is a part of the massively successful company Strava, the industry leader in online activity apps. Their main platform allows cyclists to compete against themselves and others through virtual leaderboards on real world road segments. Constantly evolving and developing new technologies, Strava Local is a newer addition to their offerings that provides curated routes in 12 cities around the world that act as ride guides, based on hand-picked data from their global online community and local athletes. The route posts offer a description, data, and photos of the ride, as well as top places to stop for food and views.

While Strava Local is the most similar competitor to Loop, it varies in one key factor: there is no conversation. The routes on Strava Local offer limited input from riders who have tried the routes, and do not allow riders to add new routes. Not being able to contribute routes to the site is limiting for riders who want to share local knowledge, but don’t have any way to output it. Similarly, the platform is only useful for riders in the 12 selected cities, or those travelling to them, which is extremely limiting in sharing quality rides around the world.

Rapha Rides

Similarly to Strava Local, Rapha has recently announced a project that will travel to 20 cities around the world to curate local routes. Rapha is an industry leader in cycling clothing, and their influence has permeated into many aspects of road cycling culture. While their 20 city project is more than the 12 city Strava Local offering, it is still incredibly limited and cities chosen represent a small fraction of the global cycling community and knowledge. Notably, no Canadian cities were included, nor were any cities in South America.

Cycling Travel Companies

Through the sharing of local knowledge and routes all around the world, Loop has the ability to disrupt the competitive cycling travel industry. Many companies operate all around the world offering cycling tours, selling local knowledge as a key point in their offerings from guides. Many cyclists pay thousands of dollars to go on guided tours in unfamiliar places abroad, simply because they don’t know where to ride. Loop allows those cyclists another option, to utilize pre-planned routes tested by other cyclists that open up the possibility for exploration, without the large price tag. By offering an alternative to this expensive industry, Loop has the potential to develop a sharing economy of riding knowledge globally.

Company Examples:
Trek Travel
Rapha Travel
Backroads Tours

Logo Design

A ride abstracted
From the beginning of the name development of Loop I was keen to find a way to make an actual loop out of the word Loop. The process proved more difficult than expected, but after many rounds of sketches on graph paper to get the shape just right, the logo started to come into view. The inspiration for taking this direction came from looking at maps of uploaded rides on Strava and similar platforms, and the interesting shapes that follow the lines of roads.

Early Stage
Beginning sketches of ride abstractions..

Taking Shape
The first form of a full loop, but not quite right.

Final Form
Refined shape that forms one continuous loop.

Imagery

A world abstracted
Following the same train of thought as the logo, the visuals for Loop are mainly abstractions of the world from above. This takes the form of illustrations, photography, and video.

Illustration
When possible, illustrations are used to map out what an area looks like from an abstracted, aerial perspective.

Photography
If an illustration is not appropriate, aerial photography that keeps with the colour scheme takes its place.

Social Media
Social media posts, blog posts, and occasional promotional material can contain non aerial shots. These photos should feature a road, scenery, or rider, and follow the colour scheme and tone of Loop.

Video

Ride new roads.
As I was working on the project, I wrote a poem about Loop in the tone that I wanted the brand to take. I wrote it on a whim, but it ended up being a key brand piece for Loop. I used the poem to create a promotional video for Loop combined with aerial footage of landscapes and cyclists.

I think of all the places I’ve ridden,
Where these legs have taken me,
Through the deepest of valleys and highest of mountains,
These are some things I’ve found true to be.

This bike is adventure,
This ride sets me free,
This body gives me life,
This life has moved me.

Whether you ride to go fast or go far,
Or to relax and unload,
We are united in our purpose,
To ride new roads.

Strava Local

Rapha Rides

Cycling Travel Companies

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