Switchbag Backpack by Stephanie Branco is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2024 Bronze A' Design Award in Fashion and Travel Accessories Design Competition Category.
BronzeAccessory· 2024
Switchbag Backpack
Client: ASA Leather Work
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Accessory Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #151953The Design
About Switchbag Backpack
The Switch Bag is born from the pandemic's impact and mirrors the dual facets of human nature. It was inspired by architecture and the painter Mondrian. The outside of this object is minimal and silent, contrasting with the interior which has vibrant and colorful boxes. These boxes equipped with magnets can be moved and adapted to the user's needs. It morphs into a backpack, an office/nomadic home, a home decor object, or an organizer and adapts to diverse environments, echoing the resilience demanded in tough times.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Switchbag Backpack is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Switchbag Backpack is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Switchbag Backpack splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Interviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
SwitchBag is a multifunctional marvel, seamlessly transforming from a backpack to an office, a nomadic sanctuary, a decorative piece, or an organizer, effortlessly adapting to any setting. Crafted in response to the pandemic's impact, it serves as a reflection of human complexity and addresses mental health concerns.
Its exterior, characterized by minimalism and tranquility, stands in stark contrast to the vibrant and imaginative interior, symbolizing the diverse facets of our personalities. Inspired by both architecture and Mondrian's artistry, the SwitchBag's magnetized compartments reveal miniature worlds within, echoing the mystical energies of nature and the universe.
This versatile companion embodies resilience, gracefully transitioning between roles to meet the demands of diverse environments. With detachable interior boxes featuring magnetic attachments, users can customize and rearrange the bag to suit their needs, with the added option of using these boxes as decorative accents.
Handcrafted using the "saddle stitch" technique and upcycled leather sourced from luxury tanneries, the SwitchBag not only exemplifies sustainability but also exudes artisanal quality and attention to detail.
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
I envisioned an object that not only organizes people's lives but is also a versatile hybrid, adaptable to modern times and capable of performing multiple functions.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
Future plans cannot yet be revealed but I can say that they go through several very exciting collaborations and plans.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Inspired by a pandemic period Switch Bag talks about mental health. It represents the different sides we show to the world. Outside - more minimalist and silent ; the Inside - with many colors and imaginaries.Inspired by architecture and Mondrian, the magnetized and colored compartments of the Switch Bag disclose little worlds inside them. It is a backpack, an office, a nomadic home, a decoration object, an organizer… it switches to adapt its environment.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 280 mm x Depth 150 mm x Height 350 mm
- Tags
- nomadbag, switchbag, nomadhome, organizer, handstitched, handmade, backpack, handbag
- Production Technology
- Handstitch and handmade with upcycled leather
- Design Challenge
- The difficult part was producing the molds for the object so that all the compartments fit perfectly into each other. Being an object made manually, there was also a challenge in relation to the material (leather) and its behavior.
- Research
- The research was based on how to transform a simple backpack into an up-to-date, beautiful and functional object that is adaptable and has multiple functions. It Involved design research, trends, 3D modeling, 2D modeling and 3 prototypes made and sew by hand.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by architectural geometrical forms and by Mondrian paintings. As Mondrian, that painted basic elements with straight lines and pure color, in order to reveal the mystical energy between the forces that governed nature and the universe, the magnetized and colored compartments of the Switch Bag disclose little worlds inside them.
- Project Duration
- The project started in June 2022 in Lisbon and is supported by the European Comission and Worth Project II and was exhibited at Design Milan Week in April 2023.
- Operation Flow
- The SwitchBag has a detachable interior boxes with magnets that allow its location and position to be modified and adapted to the user's needs. These boxes can also be used as decoration.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to ASA Leather Work, 2023
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Maria Louro and ASA Leather Work, 2023.
Image #2: Photographer Maria Louro and ASA Leather Work, 2023.
Image #3: Photographer Maria Louro and ASA Leather Work, 2023.
Image #4: Photographer Maria Louro and ASA Leather Work, 2023.
Image #5: Photographer Stéphanie Branco ASA Leather Work, 2023.
Video Credits: Amanda Naughton, 2023.
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