Photon BRST- Olympic Recurve Riser
10 Week Project
2025
California College of the Arts
Solo Project
Photon BRST is a recurve archery riser that celebrates the unique qualities that every archer brings to the bow. By highlighting the touch points for customization, Photon BRST stands out even after an archer has added all of their accessories.
Insights into the Sport
Customization
Customization is the heart of recurve target archery. Every archer is unique, so every bow will be unique.
Expression
Archers express themselves through their technique as well as their gear.
Aspiration
Many amateur archers look to the pros for the best gear to buy.
Currently, risers offer very little guidance to the most critical parts of their form, the areas where accessories are mounted and a bow is built.
My goal is to design a riser that offers the performance and flexibility that pros expect, and celebrates the moments where each archer adds their favorite accesories.
Design Criteria
Color Highlights
To guide users to the areas on the bow where they make it their own.
Softly Textured Aluminum
To better highlight touchpoints, the body of the riser should be a neutral canvas.
Poised Form
To communicate a balanced tension that can deliver a burst of power.
Sketch Ideation
Exploring cutout patterns, touchpoint highlights and expressive form.
Development
Form refinement with the goal of integrating the shape of the cutouts with the profile of the body.
Color Story
Using graphic inspiration to define a color story helped give the riser a thematic identity.
Designed for Clarity
Even after the riser has been integrated into a bow system with all the accessories attached, the riser continues to stand out.
Accessory Mounting Options
Photon BRST's 5 accessory mounts points are clearly accentuated with a color pop and a beveled bushing. The bushings are designed to be visible no matter what accessories are mounted. This gives the riser a consistent look, while also highlighting the archers chosen accessory.
Color Story
The body of the riser remains neutral to help the color highlights stand out. All three colors stand out beautifully. This type of color customization is unprecedented in recurve risers. It gives archers even more control over the final look of their bow.
