Company Background:
Freeset Global is a fair-trade certified bags, apparel, and fabric company located in Kolkata, India. They offer alternative employment for women working in Kolkata's sex trade.
My trip to India
As part of my last co-op experience at the University of Cincinnati, I traveled to West Bengal, India to take a three week long class taught by Freeset Global to learn more about what they do. The class took place in the urban city of Kolkata and in a rural district of Murshidabad. A few pictures from my trip are below.
Bag design for a younger age group
After coming back to the US, I met with Freeset USA, a distributor of Freeset Global located in Cincinnati, OH. Freeset USA heard that I had gone to Kolkata and that I was passionate about designing bags. They asked me to design a Freeset bag for a younger customer, specifically women in their 20s-30s.
In order to better understand this customer, I set out to find what she thought about Freeset USA's current bags.
Survey: would you buy these bags?
I sent out a survey to 150 people, asking them about Freeset's products. I showed them pictures of Freeset's bags as they appear on their website and asked them "Would you buy these bags?". I also had people describe their personal style and tell me where their current bags were from.
Some of Freeset's bags are shown on the left. On the right are bags that people mentioned liking in the survey.
The target customer, women aged 20-34, said they didn't like the patterns that Freeset currently had on their bags. They said they'd like the bags if they had more plain options to choose from. They also described their style as being comfortable, neutral, and simple. I set out to design bags that could embody those qualities.
Inspiration Boards
Before I started concepting, I created inspiration boards to inform my designs. I came up with two visual directions that embodied the comfortable, neutral, and simple style that Freeset's target customer described.
Initial bag Concepts
I sketched initial concepts for three different types of bags: a backpack, a handbag, and a tote bag. I presented these concepts to Freeset USA to get their feedback and a direction moving forward.
Initial Technique Concepts
I digitally sketched initial concepts for interesting techniques that could be featured on the bags. I sketched all of them on a tote bag, but these techniques can be implemented on any bag silhouette. I presented these concepts to Freeset USA to get their feedback and a direction moving forward.
Initial PrototypeS
I made initial prototypes of all the bags that Freeset USA liked in order to develop a pattern and get something for users to test. These are not the final materials or colors for the bags.
Handbag Concept 4 (previously Tote Concept 1)
Handbag Concept 3
Tote Concept 2
Backpack Concept 3
Tote Concept 3
User Feedback
After making the rough prototypes, I gave them to users in Freeset's target customer age range to get feedback. I had the women try on the prototypes, talk about what they liked and didn't like and asked if they would change anything about the bags.
Takeaways: Add pockets and closures to the interior of the bags. Leather handles are a good idea.
Refined Prototypes
After getting feedback on the fit and function of the bags, I refined the patterns and made the bags in their intended materials. I sent these refined prototypes to India to get feedback on manufacturability.
