From Blaze to beryl for award-winning bicycle light

Blaze, founded by University of Brighton graduate Emily Brooke MBE, was the former title of the organisation that pioneered a green light that projects the shape of a bicycle six metres in front of cyclists.

The design, created by Emily in her time at the university, has been widely credited with greatly improving cyclist safety in urban spaces. Emily was awarded an MBE for her innovation last year.

Due to trademark restrictions in the US, Blaze has now changed its name to beryl. The new title refers to both the gemstone of the same name – which is a similar colour to the bicycle light – and Beryl Burton, the British cyclist who won over 100 domestic and seven world titles.

She also set a 12-hour time trial record that went unbeaten by a man for two years. As a mother who was never a professional cyclist, she stands as a symbol for the inclusivity of cycling.

Emily said while it was sad to drop the Blaze name, the new moniker was fitting for a number of reasons: “Although it was incredibly hard to say goodbye to the name Blaze, I wanted to embrace it as an opportunity to reflect everything else we do as a business and expanding our new product range.

“The name beryl was inspired by both the female British pioneering cyclist Beryl Burton and also the emerald gemstone; the same colour of as our own Laserlight beam.”

Emily stressed that the rebrand would not affect the day-to-day business of the company. Cyclists can find beryl Laserlights via beryl.cc and on bike share schemes such as the London Santander Cycles.