The Emoji jacket by Ford allows cyclists to share their moods and movements

Whether you feel frustrated, angry or satisfied, or you just want to make a statement to your fellow drivers, the Emoji jacket allows you to freely express yourself without using your hands. It is part of the latest ‘’Share the Road’’ campaign, a campaign to help motorists and cyclists improve their coordination and communication in traffic – to literally share the road.

The mind behind the Emoji jacket – Ford

Ford as a multinational automotive company, wants to be known for caring for cyclists as much as for motorists. Therefore, teaming up with a couple of linguists, the company found a universal way of communication through symbols and agreed on using emojis.

After that, they met with a couple of cyclists and industrial designers from Designworks – a global creative consultancy based in the US – in order to perfect the prototype for the Emoji jacket.

Materials & Techniques – Wind/waterproof fabric with a LED mesh panel

This prototype jacket was designed to accommodate the cyclists’ needs and has a LED display on the back connected to a wireless remote. Therefore, cyclists can easily express their emotions and announce future actions by using emojis and signals.

Style & Aesthetics – An advanced, dynamic traffic light 

The Emoji jacket has a dark-colored foundation with a LED display on the back, displaying various emojis and signals in bright colors. It certainly resembles a traffic light with more advanced options and indications, withholding a much greater cause.

The Emoji jacket is designed to improve the cyclists’ safety and their relations with motorists

There are six possible symbols that can be displayed on the panel on the back of the jacket. Three of them are emojis – the smiley face, the neutral face, and the sad face. The other three symbols are left and right arrow and a hazard signal. 

The symbols can be activated by the cyclist through a wireless remote control installed on the handlebars.

Design memento – A thoughtful way to help cyclists protect themselves 

Nowadays, unfortunately, the number of cycling and pedestrian accidents has increased. The purpose of wearing the Emoji jacket is a way for cyclists to be seen and taken into account by the car drivers.

The creators hope that it will result in fewer accidents and possible injuries and also treat cyclists as equal participants in traffic circulation.

The writer’s comment – As a fellow cyclist, I appreciate and approve of the idea behind the Emoji jacket!

I am a huge supporter of cycling instead of driving. But often, I find myself being undermined and “bullied” in traffic by fellow drivers while cycling. The Emoji jacket will certainly help us, cyclists express ourselves with emojis, the universal symbol language nowadays and announce our intentions.

In conclusion to that, I certainly hope this jacket will be taken in mass production.