Mai-do(Hello), this is mayumasa!
This time, I will talk abou why we have created the backpack at first a bit.
As I mentioned in the "thoughts" section, product development began with the idea of a bag that would allow the elderly "Okan" (my mother) to use both hands freely. She has a limp, so she walks with a cane or something to hold on to. The structure of the bag, which allows the user to see inside easily, is also designed for usability for my mother.
However, there is one more reason, and that is my wish that more women would use backpacks on a daily basis. I myself used to not use a backpack on a daily basis, but after quitting my job and changing my lifestyle, I started to carry a backpack everyday.
And when I looked around, I realized that there were very few women who owned backpacks, even though they are so convenient. It is true that it is very selective in styling, and it has a strong "outdoor" image.
Although we are not conscious of gender issues these days, in the development stage, we have gone through numerous re-designs and sample development to create a basic design that emphasized rounded forms and ease of matching, in order to dispel the image of outdoor wear. In fact, it took over 5 years (!) from the initial planning to completion.
In the meantime, we set up several personas, considered insights from depth interviews, and conducted dozens of battle field tests after sampling to arrive at the finished product. This is going to be a long story, so I will tell you more about it later.
The design was not suitable for my mother, and in the end, the parental tears continued lol.
The Spring Backpack is the result of a mixture of these two thoughts, and has emerged as a product with interesting functions, design, and solid originality.
As a side note, the number of samples we made to complete the Spring Backpack easily exceeded 200. Yes, just for one product lol.
Oh, and the picture at the top is the first design drawing and mock (paper model)!
Today's BGM: RickSack /LA-PPISH↓Pls tap it!
https://bit.ly/3KdFFBX
Take care!