DA17 Conductor Primary Function: Mála Trasnach

Press Kit

Unique Properties

A casual, compact crossbody bag designed for walking around town, the DA17 is a casual, unisex bag that intends to replace both wallet & traditional handbags. Its compact size allows for better movement freedom for more active activities such as walking & bicycling while the increased capacity offers better utility over carrying traditional wallet or purse alone. It features a secure, self-closing magnetic enclosure that that can be opened with just one finger. The slim, adjustable leather strap has been designed for comfort and portability, without distracting from user's overall outfit.

Dimensions & Packaging

Dimensions: 21.5 x 13 4cm
Weight: 235g
Materials: Leather

Tags

Conductor Bag, Bag, Leather, dash

Production Technology

While The DA17 Conductor uses traditional leather craft combined with modern cutting & sewing machinery for its production, its unique formed curve and edge finishing relies heavily on the expertise of skilled artisans to achieve a refined and consistent result.

Design Challenge

For DA17 Conductor, the challenge lies primarily in finding an ideal form factor that can offer both mobility and capacity that will make the bag practical in real life use.

The new, compact form factor require challenging the convention that money & cards are stored in wallets and purse. The conscious design decision to forgo wallet helps open up new possibilities and ultimately resulted in a more compact form factor that offers greatly increased utility.

Design-wise, the bag enclosure offers unique both design & technical challenges. Intended to make it convenient for users to access their belongings, the curve enclosure had been designed to provide widest access point as possible, in an extremely compact body. The curve had to be carefully refined to create a pleasing curve as well as retaining as much internal capacity as possible when closed.

Meanwhile, the wider access design necessitate compromise in terms of gaps along on the sides of the enclosure. The designer therefore paid extra attention in minimizing the size & position of the gap, ensuring items in the bag will remain secure in the bag, but to also visually refined the sides, helping to allay users' fear of any possibilities in the first place.

Research

The research approach towards designing the DA17 Conductor is centered around studying the lifestyle specific users. By accompanying and observing 5 carefully select users on their day-off (mixed gender, age between 18-28, living in the city and minimalist style) the designer was able to obtain an understanding of the user's lifestyle, as well as the items this particular group of users typically carry with them.

The end form factor was directly derived from users requirement for a bag that can better cater for their more mobile and active movement as well as the items they require to carry with them.

A series of prototypes were then built and road-tested to help designer fine-tune the design, ensuring that the product is practical to use in the real world.

Inspiration

The DA17 Conductor draws inspiration from European train conductor's gear. A compact form factor that offers mobility and utility in confined space, the conductor bag is an ideal format for mobility in modern urban landscape. By marrying this niche bag format with broader use function and minimalistic styling, the format offers an ideal solution for urban mobility in the modern age.

Project Duration

The project began in late November 2019 and was subsequently completed in March 2020 with the product being subsequently launched for online and brick & mortar sale in July 2020.

Operation Flow

The bag can be opened with just one finger by simply sliding your finger along the top edge to open, starting from the side. The bag will close itself once you let go of the enclosure.
The carry strap can be securely adjusted via the twin pin snaps which locks the strap into a desire length. The can be carried on shoulder or crossbody for more secure carrying
Meanwhile, the "Stilt" base provides the bag with increased stability and help raise the bag's bottom off the surface when putting down on surfaces, keeping the bag clean and easy to maintain.

Patents

Trademark (2019) dash. / Aeskimo Co., Ltd.