Monday, December 1, 2025
Customising your wheelchair for the holidays, giving it in cheerful spring colors, or making it look however you want on that day: all of this is possible with wheel petals, a design made by a group of students that will soon be available to purchase.
The Industrial Product Design students from the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences conceived the product as part of the Medical Delta Program 'Assistive technology at home'. They came up with a design for wheel petals that allows children to easily personalize their wheelchairs. They plan to launch these wheel petals soon through their own company, Studio Bloom Design.
Designed with the target audience in mind
The students' goal is to inspire 'envy' in children who don't use wheelchairs. The product was designed based on conversations and testing with the target audience (children in wheelchairs) at Rijndam Rehabilitation.
The final product, the so-called 'WheelBlaadjes', easily attaches to the spokes of a wheelchair wheel with a friction clamp. The petals are quickly attached to the friction clamp with a magnet. Each wheel has nine petals, each of which can be changed to suit the wheelchair user's preference.
The product will soon be available to purchase online at www.studiobloomdesign.nl
