forgetfulness - tendency to forget/ being unaware
According to the Wall Street Journal, the average person misplaces up to nine items a day, and one-third of respondents in a poll said they spend an average of 15 minutes each day searching for items—cellphones, keys and paperwork top the list.
“Colour is believed to be the most important visual experience to human beings. It functions as a powerful information channel to the human cognitive system and has been found to play a significant role in enhancing memory performance”
- Malaysian Journal of medical sciences
What are habits?
Automatic behavior triggered by situational cues
Things we do with little or no conscious thoughts
Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit
“The products that we use habitually alter our everyday behavior”
Eyal, N. (2014).
Hooked: How to build habit-forming products.
DartsThe reverse side of fabric showing where a dart has been taken in and stitched to tailor the three dimensional shape of cloth. Darts can also be said to be folds (tucks coming to a point) and sewn into fabric to take in ease and provide shape to the cloth.
The darts are the triangular marker markings |
Magnet snaps on the bag tabs |
Magnet snapsThe magnet snaps are used to fix the organizer to the backpack by joining the magnet snaps on the the side of the organizer and those on the bag tabs on the backpack
Clear front windowIts a response to the survey question where people have not enough time to check the items in their backpack / bag.
The clear window allows them to quickly glance through and check for their items. |
Change of magnet snapsThe magnet snaps on the left which i used for the prototype are sewn in. The hand sewn type are kind of messy and take quite long to do. Thus, I've bought and changed it to the other kind which is shown in the picture below.
These type of magnet snaps are fixed when you cut two slits in your material and use your pliers to pull them flat.
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Change of position of the clear window on the bagpackThe idea of the clear window on the front of the backpack might not be comfortable to others as the items in the organizer or your backpack would be obvious to others. I changed the clear window to the back of the backpack where the user's body would block the window when the product is being used.
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Paper pattern |
Idea of a bag that is close to the body like clothingProblems with the patternThere needs to be a kind of dart or fold on the cloth where the arms goes through or it will be quite wavy.
The fold on the picture shown below shows that it reduces the waviness. |
How it looks when its wornThis prototype still follows the idea of the previous prototype where the modular organizer is placed inside the bag pack |
Flat pattern |
FlapsThe flaps on the front of the prototype are meant to hide the clear window which reveals the organizer.
I could use a jacket zip or magnet snaps to keep the two flaps together. |
This prototype still follows the idea of the previous prototype where the modular organiser is placed inside the bagpack |
using the same pattern as prototype 4 |
Back of the backpackI tried to make the back of the backpack alike the concept of the back of a bodice pattern where the darts fold to conform to the body.
When there are no items, the back of the backpack cave in to conform to the back of the body. But when there are some items in the backpack, it negates the effects of the darts placed and it no longer conforms to the back of your body. |
I had sewn a long strip of cloth along the back of the backpack and a zip in the middle to seal it.
It can be able to be folded as seen in the picture on right top. This can be held in place with hooks as seen on the left. The draped backpack can also be carried as a totebag as seen in the right picture. |
When the bottom dart is larger and at the edge of the pattern piece, the bottom becomes flat and right angled. This is seen in the picture on the right.
I've also dropped the top darts lower so that the 3d concave shape would be lower. The rationale behind this design decision is because the large items usually drop to the bottom of the bag and only the bottom of the bag require the extra space. Additionally with the top darts lowered, it gives a more streamlined appearance. By reducing the darts size at the bottom, the bag bottom has a circular curved shape.
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why?I used felt as lining due to its properties of being stiff and yet, lightweight. Previously, the backpack was caving in when there were no items inside. The optimal appearance for the backpack would be when its full. But there would be times when the user doesn't fill the whole bag with items. Thus, it would be best that the backpack would retain its shape even when there lesser items placed inside. The stiffness of the felt helps the backpack to retain its intended three dimensional form even without the contained item's support.
ReflectionsHowever, one of the negative properties of felt, is that it would shed some fibers if its in contact with items for a period of time. To prevent that, i would use a pvc lining. At the same time the lining would also hide the seams.
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Why?I cut the bottom of the backpack to be flat. In doing so, i would be able to place the totebag into the backpack. This allows for more flexibility in usage. The user would be able to place the totebag into the backpack and use both at the same time.
I also added extra room, the top piece as shown in the picture on the right, for the backpack to be able to hold the totebag. |
New edited pattern |
why?The main point of plastic is its transparency, the possibility of seeing through it and also its waterproof properties. This gives it an additional layer of meaning linking to the product intentions when one is able to look through the organizer.
Plastic and leatherThe leather is made out of Polyurethane (PU). Plastic and PU leather are both waterproof.
Colour zipsContinuing the idea of using coloured zips, the idea of corelating a colour to a compartment to trigger association of information to the specific colour.
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Mesh material reduces the visibility. When you see through the mesh from far, visibility would be very much lowered. But the person who is closer, would be able to readily look through it and see clearer through the material. Through changing materials and adding a layer of mesh, the person from far would not be able to see your items clearly except you. This fulfills the purpose of privacy that the user needs.
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Tulle materialThe tulle material is stiff but also quite fragile. It might tear if there are sharp objects within the backpack.
I would add another layer of plastic / mesh so that it won't break. I would also try another stronger mesh from an overseas shop.
The tulle material is hard to sew, it tends to stretch out of shape if one's not careful. I would try not to place the mesh on the upper most layer and the bottom most layer, cause it would stretch badly at these positions.
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There was a feedback that with only the mesh material, water might pass though and that it's not waterproof. This makes another problem when its raining. Thus, i added a layer of white organza. I would also try cloudy TPU plastic. These materials reduce visibility too and make the items in the organizer more like silhouettes so that the user of the organizer and the bags would be able to recognize the items but not other surrounding passerby.
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Gold zipsThe gold zips make the organizer look more luxurious and professional.
Different black leatherI've changed the leather used to a thicker and better leather. It has a better feel as a clutch and does not feel as flimsy as the previous leather. With this leather, the top stitching detail looks more defined and professional.
ShapeI've changed the shape of the organizer to fit the new rectangle flap. The width of the new rectangle flap is the width of the window. So the edges of the organizer is able to fold to show only the colored zips.
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Before, the flap was attached to the backpack with only magnet snaps at the top.
Now, its edited to change from magnet snaps to jacket zips. Jacket zips are better suited to hold up the weight when an organizer is added. With another jacket zip at the bottom, the whole flap would be removable. The purpose of doing so is so that by including another strap, the removable flap can be used as a slingbag |
items inside her bagWater bottle, pouch, wallet, powerbank, tissue paper, sweets, pen and umbrella
Feedback from keyan (About totebag)The jacket zip pops out when there are too many items. The side zips at the bottom of the organizer are hard to reach. The main zips at the top would scratch her arm when she tries to reach in.
Reflections from the feedbackMaybe i would add side zips to allow easy access to the bottom part of the organizer but i would have to consider the appearance of the tote bag too. Would that be too many zips?
I could perhaps use magnet snaps instead for securing the top of the totebag, since the zips would scratch the user's arms when reaching in. |
Tote bag when flipped over, covering the clear windowThe tote bag when flipped to the other sideFeedbackIs it helpful for you to remember all your daily essentials?
Answer: My general habit when it comes to carrying bag includes a small pouch that carries all my necessity. Therefore, when I switch bag, I'll just switch the entire pouch over. Therefore, I guess the organizer will function the same as my pouch so it will be helpful for people. However, I'm not too sure about the color coding because it doesn't really catches my attention when I use it. Able to transfer all your essential items from one bag to another? Answer: Yes. Is it easy to use? Any troubles using it? Answer: For all the bags in general, the zips are rough on skin and it's not very smooth to open or close. Personally, I do not like to show people the things I carry in my bag. Other than that, it's quite straightforward to use, except for the organizer on the backpack. It's hard to hook it on to the front so organizer was used inside the bag. How do you use the tote bag/ backpack? Answer: The totebag was used such that the clear side was facing my body because i prefer privacy, but it's quite hard to retrieve objects from the lower tier of the organzer because of the layout, length of bag and zipper the backpack was used such that the organizer was placed inside instead How do you feel about the material? colour? Any colour suggestions? Answer: . Material is generally okay except that the colour scheme need to be more attractive according to the desired age group. if gold zip is to represent luxury, then the surface of bag should contrast such as black. |
FeedbackIs it helpful for you to remember all your daily essentials? Answer: Yes Able to transfer all your essential items from one bag to another? Answer: Yes Is it easy to use? Any troubles using it? Answer: Had troubles with the zippers, would be good if they are sewn horizontally for easier access from top down. How do you use the tote bag/ backpack? Answer: The organiser faced towards inside How do you feel about the material? colour? Any colour suggestions? Answer: Might look like a turtle shell, probably break the pattern up further to make it more geometric I like the neutral hue however the material could be more sleek for a finer look, like leather or waterproof cloth. The current material feels like a rice bag. Any comments? : The totebag has too many zips |
Too many zips - different way of folding the tote bag?
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Area of one compartment - expandable? through snaps?
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Some might find that too large a window is uncomfortable to use. Perhaps, one of the avenues i could try is using motif for the clear parts. This would reduce the total surface area of the window, but still leave some parts of the window available for preview of the organizer.
To make the slits, i got the measurements of the size of the organiser's window first. Then i marked it out in chalk. The slits are 1cm apart and 0.5 cm in width. I tried to space the slits out a bit and use thicker and stiffer leather so that the structure won't be too floppy. Each compartment has lines going in a different direction so that there would be more distinction of the different compartments especially if the zip color is not shown on the outside.
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Tote bag pattern is too long - sticking out of backpack |
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