This project involved three rounds of ideation and refinement, the planning of a modular system, and the creation of twelve accessories. Both my business partner and myself were photographers, so we combined market research with our own experiences while creating and choosing concepts.
After landing on the final forms of the Travel 30L backpack and its accessories, I continued refining the designs with technical drawings and spec packages for each product. Now with realistic dimensions I was also able to create an accurate roadmap of products to develop next.
As we began talking with factories, we quickly learned this line of bags would cost much more upfront than we believed we could realistically raise via kickstarter, so we decided to go another route and develop a simpler line that still worked with the accessories already developed. We would then use this series to launch the company and raise the capitol needed for the more complex bags.
I took a concept of an everyday carry style backpack that I created during the previous ideation phase and further developed it to build a prototype. My aim was to create a minimalist rucksack that still had all of the functionality required by our modern lifestyle. I then took this aesthetic and designed a matching duffle bag.
Through technical drawings and further refinement of the design, I was able to create patterns for bags and accessories which I used to build the final samples of the bags.
I considered multiple fabrics and colorways for the initial run of bags. I decided to use a coated 500D Cordura for the shell with a 400D nylon liner. I debated between using 1000D Cordura or 1680 ballistic nylon for the base of the larger bags, but ultimately I chose the ballistic nylon because of its contrasting texture to the 500D fabric.
The final lineup of bags consists of a daypack, a duffle bag, a gear bag, and an expanding packing cube. All of the bags offer more features than first appears, and are intended to be used together. The two accessory bags fit inside the Overday backpack, and all three of those easily fit in the Overnight duffle for convenient travel.
Despite never coming to market I am proud of the products I made for Sauropod. This project was a great learning experience for working with factories, and understanding the business side of launching a startup.
gLike
Sauropod Travel Bags
Sauropod was a startup that I co-founded with a mission to create products for the digital nomad. I aimed to design bags that could adapt to the ever changing needs of modern life. This project ended up as two separate product lines that shared a range of compatible accessories. The first series was more focused on traveling photographers, while the second was intended for a wider audience.
