YURI ENDO IDAS HONGIK UNIVERSITY FALL 2011 INDEPENDENT STUDY I & PRODUCT DESIGN STUDIO II PROFESSOR ANDREA DICHIARA
The purpose of this publication is to document developments and process of academic courses, Product Design Studio II and Independent Study I, both conducted by Professor/Designer Andrea Dichiara of IDAS (Hongik University) in collaboration with a Seoul based design studio, 2 in Asia, which aim to explore trends, functionality, technologies and materials to develop a “working container� for electric devices with additional practicality and prevailingness. Please sit back and enjoy my compelling journey.
Text, design and photography by Yuri Endo
CONTENTS STAGE ONE: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT MATERIAL AND MARKET RESEARCH CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES CONCEPT, TARGET AND PARTICULARS DESIGN, LOGO AND DISPLAY
STAGE TWO: PROTOTYPING AND EVALUATION PROTOTYPE 001: PAPER PROTOTYPE 002: 3D RENDERING PROTOTYPE 003: NYLON PROTOTYPE 004: NYLON
CONTEXT
STAGE ONE: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT MATERIAL AND MARKET RESEARCH CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES CONCEPT, TARGET AND PARTICULARS DESIGN, LOGO AND DISPLAY
Dongdaemun textile market, Seoul
MATERIAL AND MARKET RESEARCH I have been looking for a perfect laptop carrying container for over 10 years. Since the conventional computer bags in the market are often too bulky and business like, it is extremely difficult to match with my social environment. In that sense, I have tried Prada to nada, high end designers’ bags to freebies which I equally found unsuitable for my precious laptop. On that note, I started my research from analysing functions and materials of the bags in my possession as well as exploring the current market and material trends to develop my initial design ideas.
Display boards for in-class presentations Left: Function and market analysis, Right: Material research
CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES Based on my previous analysis, I reflected my “wish list� on the conceptual sketches; A conventional shaped three-way bag for almost every occasion Expandable with zippers Adjustable handles Strong inside protection Lightweight Water and stain resistant Ample enough to fit various sizes of laptop computers Extra organization spaces for computer necessities and valuables
Left: Initial design sketches, Right: Final design sketches
CONCEPT, TARGET AND PARTICULARS According to my accumulated research and analysis, I finalized the concept, target, possible material and color options; Concept and target: A laptop carrying container for career and style conscious individuals in their late 20’s onward. Possible materials: Tyvek, Woven laminated PP or Nylon tulle for outing. Laminated bubble wrap, Aircell or Memory foam for liner. Color variations: Black, Khaki, Beige, Gray, Metallic Silver and Metallic Gold.
Left: Concept and target setting, Right: Possible material choices and color variations
DESIGN, LOGO AND DISPLAY As the last stage of research and development, I finalized the specific design of the bag and accordingly proposed the ideal logo and display ideas; Features: The three ways to carry the bag via the bags regular handles, as a tote bag, over the shoulder strap, as a messenger bag, and rucksack straps, as a backpack. The over the shoulder strap can be separated with a zipper for the backpack use. Padded element for the laptop and a separate compartment for storing other computer necessities and documents. Front and back zipped pockets for sorting valuables. A zipper compartment for expansion. Logo: Applied zipper motif to emphasis the bag’s versatile features. Display: Minimal yet effective ways to articulately present bag’s three way features; with three transparent torso mannequins and projection via three televisions or computer screens.
Left: Final design, Right: Logo and display proposal
STAGE TWO: PROTOTYPING AND EVALUATION PROTOTYPE 001: PAPER PROTOTYPE 002: 3D RENDERING PROTOTYPE 003: NYLON PROTOTYPE 004: NYLON
A work-in-progress prototype
PROTOTYPE 001: PAPER In order to further understand the basic structure of the final design, I used mat brown and gray wrapping papers to build a mock-up bag.
PROTOTYPE 002: 3D RENDERING Upon completion of the paper mock-up, I modelled the bag in 3D to articulately illustrate its details.
3D rendering instruction by Matthieu Tessier
PROTOTYPE 003: NYLON As a first fabric experiment, I created a simple tote bag with black 1 yard nylon and water resistant zipper tape following the handicraft instruction by Jiyoun Lee of 2 in Asia.
Handicraft instruction and demonstration by Jiyoun Lee
PROTOTYPE 004: NYLON Following the instruction by Jiyoun Lee of 2 in Asia, my final protptype of the semester was created with black 2 yard nylon, zipper tape with silver teeth, nylon mesh fabric and three different types of metal hardware.
Handicraft instruction and demonstration by Jiyoun Lee
SPECIAL THANKS: JIYOUN LEE EIKO ENDO HEE SUN LEE MATTHIEU TESSIER ANDREA DICHIARA
During the course of one semester, I have learned the basics of product design on the whole, I also had an prime opportunity to create a prototype bag of my dream in collaboration with professional designers. Although the academic courses have come to the end, I plan to further refine the design to complete the final prototype. On that note, please follow my research blog at designmeswell.blogspot.com for updates.
© 2011 YURI ENDO