Elusive, silent, solitary, the ghost of the forest with a mythological eyesight has been adopted and integrated in gravgrav’s logo and identity since its foundation.
And with time the Lynx has become more a more a prominent active presence in the daily history of the brand, in the concrete wish to rise awareness about the ecosystem we all live in, and the urgency to preserve it, care for it and enjoy it.
And yes, ride in it.
The “Ride and Rewild” concept came up with The Lynx Trail project, the first educational bikepacking route designed by founder Max Riese and Iris Slappendel through Slovenia and Croatia, from Dina Pivka Centre for Large Carnivores, over Rijsniak National Park to the Mediterranean Sea. A special volunteer self-sustained project we conceived with LIFE Lynx for cyclists. Learn, discover, see, ride and enjoy your bike in the awareness of the environment you are crossing: the animals, the plants, we are all part of this ecosystem after all. We are all connected, after all.
I first encountered the Lynx when I offered to design the Logo for gravgrav: “Not another minimalistic, cold heartless meaningless pretentious logo”, I said to myself and Max. I smiled, stubborn with a foggy vision of something in my head.
gravgrav was born in Austria, aiming to become a european cycling platform.
So, I started my research. The Lynx came up quite immediately and I fell for its charme like love at first sight: endangered animal, basically not present anymore in Austria, its presence was recently rediscovered in the Kalkalpen National Park. So, here we are, I said to myself. And it is also a European animal. So, perfect. And many of its personality traits can be traced back to those of the wild ultracyclist.
And many many many sketches and readings later, the logo was born.
So, when AssSaver approached us, the subject choice for a gravel WingWing mudguard was quite obvious since the first talk.
I have been given a layout to work on, some technicality I had to respect for the print and production, and freedom of design.
First, it is always visual research: hours and hours digging my eyes into images: what has been done before me, which solutions other minds and hands found in the past, my obsession for primitive and ancient art, Romanesque art, bestiary, textile…
Like a hunter, like an artist-shaman I go look for images, I collect them, I steal, I learn, I re-trace those lines, till they become my lines. On paper first, always. I study on the paper, I fight on the paper, I try pencils, markers, different tools. The last battle is always with the vectorial software … as I have a very expressive expressionist hand, it takes time for me to find a balance and not lose myself in it. But well.
The head has to be visible, once the mudguard is mounted on the bike, as it carries the most distinguished trait of the animal: tufted ears. So I proceed with more drafting as and when I am a eventually happy of something I transferred on the iPad, retrace again, correct, select colors …
Tibetan tiger motif rugs became my main reference for the design: how they synthesize shape and colors, the fur pattern, the playful holiness of the animal.
On top the narrative power of an object of design, as Michel De Lucchi highlights in many interviews, for which an object it is not just an object in itself, but it tells a story.
By buying the asssaver you will sustain our work, feel part of this community and spread the voice about protecting the Lynx and our environment.