Spring 2008 / Team Project / Institute of Design
Toby is a highly flexible bicycle trailer, aimed at supporting a bike culture that appeals to families and professionals as well as young idealists.

The problem
The Toby concept was developed in Spring 2008 as a group project for the Institute of Design's Product Design II graduate course. It was also submitted as an entry for Design 21's Power to the Pedal contest.

A research-inspired point of view
We supplemented secondary research with an online survey and ethnographic interviews. Our research suggested that, if our society is going to break from its dependence on the automobile, the alternatives must provide the same ease and convenience that have made us such a car culture. A solution has to offer something more than the satisfaction that comes with making a responsible decision.

The Toby concept
Toby is a highly flexible bicycle trailer that accommodates four primary living activities - grocery shopping, transporting cargo, transporting kids, and pushing kids in strollers - in order to help build a bike culture that appeals to families and professionals as well as young idealists.

Toby functions equally well as a transport for both packages and passengers and doesn't take up a lot of storage space. It detaches from the bicycle once the rider has reached her destination and can be used as a cart for groceries or a stroller. And it collapses easily for convenient storage when it is not in use.