Samuel Rauert is riding high with his latest design

Samuel is a current third year student who is majoring in Graphic and Digital Design and already making waves in the design world!  We caught up with him recently to discuss his amazing new project in the cycling world! 

ADA: Samuel, your recent design project got you involved in two passions, graphic design and riding.  Tell us about your design.

SR: This t-shirt design originally started off as a massive 2.5 metre data visualiation. It is based on the most prestigious cycling sprint of the year, the Champs-Élysées finish of the Tour De France. Originally titled Champs-Élysées, it was later retitled to Streamline after being modified for a t-shirt and sold on Thread + Spoke. It was designed to display and explain the tactics, teamwork and effort utilised in a UCI World Tour sprint to a person with little knowledge of the intricacies of road cycling.

The infographic was designed on two levels; initially you will see an alignment of riders, their positions, based on drafting and team-mate set-ups, the effects of which can be read in the heart-rate gauges.

On a further reading you will see motions such as lead out riders pulling off from a turn, and sprinters being towed to the front. The pace can be visualized by the spreads between riders. You can see where the tension is high and where riders are rubbing shoulders to keep position. Finally there are riders that have already done their job for the day, supporting team-mates and are happy just to cross the line safely.

ADA: How did you turn it into a visual design?

SR: To turn the work into a t-shirt design, I cropped the data visualisation down to one group of riders, and removed all information. I uploaded this version to my Redbubble store as a t-shirt design, where it was spotted by an emerging cycling niche t-shirt company named Thread + Spoke. From here the design went on to be one of their best selling t-shirts of 2016. I now have four other designs up on their store with a new design for the Giro d’Italia (tour of Italy) only just released!

ADA: What does this experience bring to your career?

SR: Being heavily involved in racing myself, it was a project that I was very passionate about, and I have since formed a great partnership with Thread + Spoke. I’d encourage others to bring their passions into their designs, as your insider knowledge gives you a great edge and can add a unique approach to your work.

ADA: What has been the best part and the most challenging part of this journey?

SR: The most challenging and equally interesting part of the design was working to the huge scale that I set myself. I knew when I started working on the infographic that I would require an enormous scale, as I had to fit in 119 riders for 17 UCI World Tour teams, and information relating to individual riders and groups. This was my first time working to such a large scale and was a great experience for myself. While working at this scale I had to find the right size so that elements at the top of the 2.5 metre visualisation were not too small, and that elements at eye level were not too big. I also had to convey a large amount of information whilst keeping the key simple and easy to understand.

For more on Samuels work check out:

Instagram @rauertdesign

Facebook @rauertdesign

Redbubble and Thread+Spoke stores are:

threadandspoke.com/collections/vendors?q=Samuel%20Rauert

www.redbubble.com/people/rauert