Project goal:

Designing and constructing a functional three module component portfolio bag for artists who commute back and forth from home to studio

Project Duration: 15 weeks

meet leah

Leah is a senior majoring in Fine Arts. Her focus in her major is painting.

Everyday, Leah commutes to and from school, carrying as many as three bags of supplies and schoolwork plus her coffee or tea of the day. She struggles in the mornings especially, packing up all of her stuff, loading it into her car, and then carrying it 10-15 minutes across campus to get to class.

the commute

Most common kind of portfolio bag, however, it's hard to carry and the shoulder strap causes pain especially with the added backpack. Often times has only 1-2 pockets, so it's not very organized either.

Looks comfortable but the height of it seems awkward. If this cannot hold electronics, then you would still need another bag for your school assignments plus another bag for supplies if they do not fit in there.

Stylish, but it's so small it can't carry anything bigger than an iPad or 8"X11" paper. Would still need more bags as well for supplies and schoolwork.

the current market

First solution - Organization

This is about what most traditional painters have to bring to school everyday spread about three bags

So I decided to categorize each bag to avoid a scrambled mess like this

Brush Bag

Supply Bag

Paper Bag

second solution - branding

Many fine artists enjoy incorporating a bit of joy and whimsy into their everyday lives through their wardrobe, hair, makeup, and personal space such as their rooms, cars, and studio space.

When designing this bag, I wanted to include this aspect of many artists into the bag. Many of the portfolio bags l've seen tend to be too plain and boring for this lifestyle.

sketches

At this point, I had already done a few rounds of sketching, landing on this main silhouette. With the branding, I knew I wanted a fun shape, so I went with a star, a very trendy shape that I then stretched and manipulated into different proportions and styles

third solution - materials

I thought it'd be ironic using canvas as the main material of the bag made for artists, plus it doubles as a durable and thick material. Some panels have foam between the outer and lining layers as well as the shoulder straps. Then, the binding tape wraps around a piece of cording to give the bag extra structure.

For the Brush Bag, I decided the coat the material in beeswax, making it waterproof and safe to store wet brushes if need be.

Systems map

Fabric mockup of all three modules. Tried out attachment points, specific measurements. Learned more about what the bag was lacking

mockups

Bristol and cardboard mockup. Use it to get a general idea of sizing and proportions pf each component,

Fabric mockup of just the Paper Bag. Wanted to test sewing skills and methods

pattern

color exploration

In my color exploration, I made sure to add a version of the bag without a giant star for those who may want to customize their bag themselves or if they don’t want a star as big and noticeable as the original concept.