Construction Comments
In our initial prototype, we decided to construct the bulk of our bag out of cardboard. We felt that cardboard provided us with the most even balance between flexibility and stiffness. I’d even go as far to say, cardboard and our desired material– pleather– are similar in almost every aspect. We are searching for fabric with an ability to keep a firm shape, while maintaining the comfort that comes along with a piece of material.
The 3D printed addition to our prototype is a one-press-release clasp to aid the “secret fanny pack” strap. We aim for an easy way to remove the bag when desired, but something that will limit the movement of the bag while walking.
List of concerns and discoveries that we have run into during our exploration:
- Will this fit a water bottle?
- How can we make our straps adjustable?
- How can we expand the height of the bag without “makin’ it ugly” (Sabene, 2016) Would we have to expand the horizontal dimensions as well? Would this ruin our attempts at a non-clunky design?
- How will we acquire the metal parts we need?
- Material concerns- how much needed? how much will it cost? how will we build the bag?
- We must adjust the flaps on the side pockets to fit a phone as previously desired.
- This MAY hold a coffee cup
- Collapsibility seems to be very important, and we did not account for this in the prototype or any design, really.
In our next stage of design and build, we hope to make necessary changes. The most significant improvement will be collapsibility. We fear this may be difficult using cardboard, and will only be possible in our final model, which would be built using far more flexible material. Our next model may need to be a hybrid of pleather and cardboard.