Press Release
Stephanie Branco Is Honored with the Bronze A' Design Award for Switchbag Backpack in Fashion and Travel Accessories Design
Stephanie Branco acknowledged for fashion and travel accessories design by the international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 14, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Switchbag Backpack by Stephanie Branco, designed for ASA Leather Work, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Fashion and Travel Accessories Design category. The award was conferred within the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
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.
About Stephanie Branco
Stéphanie Branco is an architect since 2006 and her passion for craftsmanship emerged in 2010 when she made her first pair of shoes, entirely by hand, while working in Paris. Being the 4th generation of craftsman, her passion for craftsmanship runs in her blood. In 2011 she founded ASA Leather Work. In 2016 she came back to Portugal, her homeland, to study Footwear Design and work with as a Production Manager for national & international brands. Later, in a self-taught way, she started practicing the saddle stitch technique and made a wallet for a friend and bags for her. And she never stopped. A true passion was born and the therapeutic feeling of working with her hands was fantastic.
Award Record
This recognition makes Stephanie Branco a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Fashion and Travel Accessories Design Award
The A' Accessory Design Award is an international fashion design competition recognizing good accessory designs by leading designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to accessory designers, fashion designers, travel accessory designers and luxury goods manufacturers from all countries. Entries typically include handbags, scarves, belts, luggage, hats and travel bags. Awarded accessory designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/accessory
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/151953
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/151953
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!151953
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/159238
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://rb.gy/wdb1b
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Switchbag Backpack
- Function
- Backpack
- Category
- Fashion and Travel Accessories Design
- Discipline
- Fashion Design
- Industry
- Fashion and Luxury
- Colors
- Linen, Dark Gray, Dark Red, Saddle Brown and Sienna
- Images
- 5
- Client
- ASA Leather Work
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Stephanie Branco
- Country
- Portugal
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2023 - 2024
- Design ID
- #151953
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer Maria Louro and ASA Leather Work, 2023.; Photographer Stéphanie Branco ASA Leather Work, 2023. Video Credits: Amanda Naughton, 2023.
Design Details
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Realization and Technology
- Handstitch and handmade with upcycled leather
- Operation and Interaction
- 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.
- Project Duration and Location
- 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.
- Specifications
- Width 280 mm x Depth 150 mm x Height 350 mm
- Keywords
- nomadbag, switchbag, nomadhome, organizer, handstitched, handmade, backpack, handbag
