If you’ll be dragging along some of your most essential stuff with you, you might as well look cool and feel comfortable while doing so.
Bags are both the most utilitarian yet also the most personal things we carry with us the moment we step outdoors, at least next to our smartphones. We choose bags not just to match our aesthetic tastes but also to match how we prefer to carry them. Not all bags are created alike, of course, and most outdoor bags tend to look the part of being rugged and not something you might be happy to flaunt around. There is, of course, always room for improvement, and one concept tries to check all the right boxes of flexibility and comfort while also looking cool in the process.
Designer: Zihao Song
Different people carry bags differently, and most bags are designed for one or the other style. Some prefer to swing their bags over their shoulders or backs, while others like keeping their stuff close to their chest. Of course, there are also outdoor bags that try to serve all customers but end up looking awkward or feeling uncomfortable.
Designing a bag that caters to different wear styles is definitely no easy feat. Especially when you’re trying to hit other targets like comfort, style, and even modularity. Those are the lofty goals that this Travel Box outdoor bag concept tries to address. As with any good product design, the idea went through various iterations and prototypes before arriving at a final, workable version.
The Travel Box is notable in a few ways, and the most immediate is its minimalist design that almost has a tinge of futuristic appeal with its sharp angles, straight edges, and hard shell. This design brings both protection as well as room for all the items you’d want to bring with you on a trip outdoors. The colored straps provide a nice chromatic contrast to the bag’s all-black motif, creating visual points of interest that bring a bit of life to the product. The bag also makes use of reflective stickers that not only provide safety but also break the monotony of that black surface.
Despite the Travel Box’s handsome but hard looks, it is designed to be comfortable to wear, whether you hang it off your shoulder, across your chest, or on your back. As an added bonus, the top portion of the bag can actually be detached and be used as an independent diamond-shaped box you can carry around by hand. The modular Travel Box is a fine example of how some outside-the-box thinking can lead to a product design that is not only functional but looks cool to boot.
