Laptop Bag
A laptop bag designed and commercialized through a full end-to-end product journey.
A semester-long group enterprise project: a laptop sleeve that becomes a stand, taken from observation to packaging and launch.
01 · User observations
What? Where? Why? When? Who?
We observed college students in study spaces, cafes and libraries across campus to understand what equipment they generally carry, how long they stay in the same position and posture, and whether they feel any discomfort.
We chose Cafe Bene, Cafe Paradiso, Grainger Library and the Siebel Center for Design because they are always bustling with students: the best places to observe a wide variety of them.
We visited the Siebel Center for Design and both cafes during the day, and Grainger Library at night, the peak times for each.
- Project
- Group enterprise
- Timeframe
- One semester
- Brand
- Exotic Banana
Prototyping is the conversation you have with your ideas.And boy, did we have conversations.
02 · Prototyping
Over 15 prototypes
We made over 15 prototypes over the course of this design process, learning more than we ever imagined. The journey involved tackling assumptions, the curiosity to learn new skills, accepting our limitations and those of the materials, and developing a never-give-up attitude.
03 · Packaging design
Subtle, and worth opening
Packaging was a key part of how people interact with the product. We wanted it to be exciting, but subtle enough not to take away from the main attraction: the product itself.
Our solution was a paper band that wraps around the product and is easy to open and close from the back. Text on the band was kept to a minimum, with only the most important information in one small corner on the back.
Everything else people needed to know went on a small card placed inside the bag. It’s always exciting when something extra falls out, and it made sure people read what mattered most.
04 · Digital marketing
Monochrome, conversational, transparent
Our main marketing platform was Instagram, where we created an account that let people interact with us and get to know us and the product.
We focused on how and what we posted: every post kept a monochrome theme, with text and background in sync, and that theme became part of our brand identity too. We wrote in a conversational way and showed the many iterations behind the final design, to be as transparent as possible about how it was made.
We gained a significant amount of attention, though not the numbers we expected, and we would hope to do better in the future.
Imagine.Innovate.Inspire.
Next project
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true wireless earbuds offering a truly unique listening experience
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