Design a Poster and Donate it to Bikes4Ukraine

We are a Danish non-profit that sends used bikes to the Ukrainian people, who need them desperately right here and now. If you like bikes and bike-friendly cities and want to help Ukraine, we would be grateful if you designed a poster and donated it to our cause. We would sell them online and all proceeds will go to sending more bikes to Ukraine. We would later arrange an exhibition of all the posters at Lviv Art Center - and elsewhere.

Design Brief

Ukraine needs bikes now. We send used bikes from Europe to Ukrainian cities. The first 100 bikes are delivered but now we are scaling up. We need fundraising for all the future shipments so donating your graphic design work to us and Ukraine will help generate focus on the cause and raise money through sales.

The situation is harsh in Ukraine. The roads are ruined, there is a gas shortage and public transport like busses was either destroyed by Russians or taken into use by the Ukrainian Army. People need bikes to get from smaller villages into larger towns to get food, water, medicine and humanitarian aid. NGOs need them to cycle out to bombed neighbourhoods in larger cities and deliver the same kind of things to vulnerable citizens. Parents need them to get their kids to school and to the doctor. And so on.

How do you illustrate Bicycle Freedom? We’re looking for poster designs that illustrate the power of the humble bicycle and how it is a timeless workhorse in times of war and crisis - as well as in the daily lives of citizens everywhere.

Article for Context: The Bicycle - A Vital Tool and Symbol in Times of Crisis

The design should illustrate how the bicycle is a lifeline in daily life. It is versatile, flexible and timeless since its invention in the 1880s. It is transformative, powerful and yet the design of the bicycle is simple and elegant.

We’re looking for designs that reflect normal bikes - with back racks, baskets, fenders, etc. NOT racing bikes or spandex cyclists. The people who are already using our bikes are just regular citizens who need to get from A to B and to carry stuff. Many of them strong, Ukrainian women. But soldiers on the front also use bikes for quick and versatile transport.

The design should reflect Ukraine but it should be universal, as well.

The only thing we suggest is that if you feature bicycles in the design, they should be pointed to the right - to the future. Read this article about why.

Dimensions: 50 cm x 70 cm (Standard European poster size)

Format: Send it to us as a pdf, print-ready.

We will upload them to an on-demand website and sell them from there. All proceeds from sales will go to sending more bikes to Ukraine. If we organise an exhibition, they will be printed in the best quality.

Keywords: Bicycle Freedom, power of the bike, flexibility, normal bikes for transporting things, regular citizens on bikes, families on bikes, bicycle history, Ukraine.

Have a look farther down for some of the designs already donated and some visual inspiration in the form of vintage bicycle posters from the turn of the last century. Have a look around this site for more context and to see the photos and films from our first two visits to Ukraine.

What You Need to Do

Let us know that you are interested in donating your amazing poster design - or to ask questions - by contacting us through the Contact page and write “poster design“ in the subject field.