An academic project done in collaboration with MaCher, a sustainable product design company and certified B Corporation, in a competition against our classmates. Where our team were tasked to reimagine MaCher's gadget case; one of five key products that MaCher provides for their clients. We were also required to create a digital companion to accopmany the physical product. Our team redesigned the gadget case into more of a gadget bag. What we called "The Wander Bag" designed with removable inserts that allow for adaptive storage and multiple configurations to wear or carry the bag. The digital companion the "Wander Wiz" is an SMS-based digital concierge. Asissting the user through any questions, problems, or even recomendations. Where our team won the competition between our classmates and were able to work with MaCher further. Creating spec sheets to get official product samples of our gadget bag from their manufacture.
The problem our team aimed to solve was for student travelers, providing them with a versatile gadget case that could be used for a myriad of purposes on their trip. With the digital companion making the pre, post and during trip activities more enjoyable. Over the course of the project we faced a myriad of challenges, from strict design constraints, cost management, environmental and sustainability concerns, and a few patent concerns.
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For the physical product our solution was “The Wanderer Bag”. A versatile modular case with removable organizing inserts that easily transforms the standard gadget case into the wanderer, a perfect travel companion for student travelers.
The digital companion solution was the “Wander Wiz”. An SMS-based digital concierge that aided the user through any pre-trip planning, providing recommendations for activities on their trip, and engaging with users after their trip by recommending similar experiences the user can attend at home.
In our exploration phase we first identified the most popular Gadget Cases on the current market. We looked at their similarities and differences, what we thought was useful and where we saw room for improvement. We focused on the direct buyer feedback, combing through user reviews looking for patterns, trends, and pain points. These were the direct user insights that informed our design.
From the sketches our team was then tasked with creating 3D renders from our sketches. Allowingus to nail down some of the smaller details like theD-rings on the back of the bag. Creating models gave us the opportunity to understand the formfactor we were working in and what we'd realistically be able to implement on the bag. As Well as ways to ensure we’d be able to add the key design features we drew in our sketches.
After reviewing user reviews of currently existing gadget cases and our own personal experience with similar products. We created our first physical prototype, from a frame for the bag that I 3D printed and then took a backpack from the 99¢ store and grafted that material on to my frame. Where we then
