Day-Pack® is an innovative foldable bag designed as a part of the urban bag series for men, commissioned by Markam to be manufactured by Adidas.

Brief


Day-Pack® is designed based on the habits and preferences of male users across Europe. The market research held in 2010 among B, C1, C2 segments with 25-45 year old males showed that a majority prevented using daily bags due to their perceived association with "femininity." The challenge of this project was to create a masculine, urban daily bag series that would break this consumption pattern, thus increasing the consumption rates among this user segment and product category.
 
User Experience (UX) Research

First phase of the project was user experience (UX) research that explored bag usage habits of male users. Most common modes of carrying bags included shoulder (cross) hanging, waist mounting and hand-held items. One identified pain point was that men who did not use bags were mostly holding small daily items in their suit pockets or carrying in their hands. These consumers needed a practical solution both for business and casual days to pack their small daily items.
Design Strategy


The design strategy of Day-Pack® was pointing out to masculine references during designing the product line. The idea of reaching a masculine outlook was inspired by the design guidelines of military equipments. Connected strategic design parameters based on military cues included;

- Defined functional areas
- Modularity
- Flexibility
- Closeness to body
- Multi-functionality
Concept Development


The conceptual ideas evolved around masculine hints such as rifles, repair tool kits mounted around the waist, technological devices like camcorders, male clothing such as shoulder straps and vests. Suiting men's daily wear was set as another design criteria. Following the design strategy principles these seven conceptual ideas were designed and developed for further evaluation. All product ideas were modeled 1:1 and tested. Selected ideas were refined throughout product development phases.
Product Development


The size of the bag was decided upon carrying small daily items such as car license, keys, phone, wallet, glasses, pens, notebooks, cigarette packs. The material choice of the product made this series fit both working days and weekends, adapting urban lifestyles.
 
One design direction derived from military equipments was keeping the bags as close to the body as possible for giving them a sense unity with the body. This enhanced bodily movements and users reframed these bags as an "equipment" rather than an "accessory."
Day-Pack® is special for its ability to transform from a hands-free bag into a hand-held bag with the help of the built-in folding mechanism. The user is able to "transform" the cross-fit bag into a hand-held bag through simply folding it and adjusting the strap length. 
Foldability enables the bag to be used with different clothes and brings the flexibility to change the relation of the bag with the user's body.
Scope of the Project / Responsibilities

User experience (UX) research
Design strategy
Concept development
Product development
Mock-up models
Usability tests
Prototype production


Credits

Designed in collaboration with: Cihangir Ünlütürk
Commissioned by: Markam
Client: Adidas
Year: 2012

You may also like

Back to Top