After two years in business, Detroit Bikes was making bikes, but little headway in terms of identity and awareness. To our eyes, the bikes are beautiful. Hand-made works of art, fashioned in chromoly steel. That beauty inspired us to create more hand-made art -- ads inspired by the fantastic advertising posters of the first half of the 20th century.

The ads are anything but hard-sell. They are flights of fancy with a nod to Detroit grit, wartime propaganda and glamorous fashion. But mostly, they are simply a celebration of the freedom found by going for a ride on a bike.

No clip art. No stock photos. No CGI.

These posters are real art, hand-drawn by a real artist, whose only instruction was to create something beautiful with a Detroit Bike in it.

Over the course of 2016, Detroit Bikes has more than doubled its production and sales. The brand is now in more than 70 dealers across the country and is in contract discussions to partner with brands all over the map: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Faygo Soda, Citibikes and New Belgium brewery. The excitement of growing bigger has spurred thoughts beyond posters: The Detroit Bikes client has asked us to help redesign their website and in-store displays.