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color bag.

junior year studio project (Iowa State University)

team work

objective: interview a group of sophomore industrial design students and design a soft good with their needs in mind. 

colour bag BLACK AND WHITE.jpg

interviews:

1.

3.

high level of organization and accessibility.

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exterior simplicity

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high durability

2.

from these interviews, we determined 3 core design criteria:

these design criteria helped us narrow our ideas.

user testing:

we gave our two sophomore students each a prototype to use as their backpacks for the next week. each day the users filled out a diary page describing their experience using the backpack. 

"where did you take your backpack?"

to class

to work

to the gym

"what did you carry in your backpack?"

various markers

loose paper

water bottle

pencil case

sketch book

caliper

laptop

headphones

circle template

"what couldn't you fit inside your backpack?"

laptops with protective cases

copics or other larger markers

larger water bottles like hydroflasks

"what improvements would you make?"

add handle to top

extend padded straps, attach straps at the top of the back piece so the straps don't pull the font straps open

buckles or sewn-in naps would hold better than hook and loop. some sort of outward decoration would be nice as well

structure the pencil case more and add more pen pockets. expand the pen slots so they can fit topic markers well

straps are too short to keep the flap down all the time, especially when the backpack straps are fully extended

two separate zippers: one on the top for easy access, and one that zips around so it lays flat.

waterproof material, or thicker heavy-duty canvas

sides need to have some sort of mild structure, and use of zipper or snap to expand the sides when needed

diary entry samples:

final prototype:

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