Solutions to Commuting Bags for Students

Introduction The purpose of this conceptual design report is to develop a way to transport the items that a university student needs daily in a more efficient way. The design brief Improving the Organization and Time Taken to Organize Daily Carry Bags for Commuters and Students outlines the problems that current backpacks and messenger bags have for commuters, and suggests many diverse criteria for improvement. This conceptual report will reassess these criteria in order to reframe the problem, then present three possible solutions to the problem of inefficient bags along with an evaluation of the three conceptual designs.

Design Reframing
Design Brief Assessment
While the design brief provided introduced a genuine problem, in order to develop appropriate and suitable conceptual designs, additional adjustments were made and re-framing was done with respect to several aspects of the original brief. This process was conducted to ensure that the fundamental nature of the original brief was preserved, and to allow for the establishment of divergent design solutions which provide a suitable solution to the problem established in the original brief. In introducing the essence of the problem for which a solution is needed, primarily optimizing the organization of important materials carried by students and commuters, such as laptops or documents. The design brief suggests a solution to this personal efficiency problem through the enhancement of back packs or messenger bags, thus limiting the manner in which the problem can be solved. Support for developing an improved back pack or messenger bag was consistent throughout the brief, but was more prominent in the constraints and criteria sections on Page 2, where it is stated the "bag must be the same size as a general daily bag" and that to establish the effectiveness of a potential solution, the "amount of time it takes to search the bag thoroughly" may be used as criteria. Furthermore, the brief did not provide a definition for personal efficiency, stating only that the solution "should be designed to enhance the user's organization and efficiency in the management of documents and other materials." While this statement outlines a central objective for our concept design solutions, it restricts our group's ability to produce valid solutions according to the brief's expectations due to the absence of a concrete definition of personal efficiency. In response, our group instituted the definition of personal efficiency to be an individuals ability to complete a range of varying tasks essential to satisfying every day needs with minimal exertion and time consumption. In conclusion, the brief's main deficiency was its suggestion of a particular solution through its establishment of very explicit specifications to adhere to. However, the quality of the research evidently conducted and presented throughout the brief provided valuable information with respect to the difficulties plaguing existing solutions, which acted as a foundation from which we could develop concept design solutions.

Design Reframing
Reframing
As aforementioned, some aspects of the design brief were altered to allow for a greater range of candidate solutions to be produced. In order to appropriately reframe the problem, our group reconsidered the stakeholders associated with the problem outlined in the design brief, which suggests that a potential backpack would have to conform to the needs of elementary school students, high school students, university students and working adults. However, this notion of the stakeholders affiliated with the problem is difficult to work with and perhaps unrealistic, considering the vastly contrasting organizational needs of each of these stakeholders. Our group decided to redirect our focus to commuters and university students, thus enabling us to generate solutions tailored to coincide with their organizational needs. This also allows us to circumvent the possibility of producing solutions for which some of the needs of the stakeholders are not met satisfactorily, as well as the possibility of producing solutions that meet the needs of all the stakeholders outlined in the original brief, but are overly convoluted. Additionally, instead of attempting to entirely revamp existing bags as suggested by the original brief, we decided to focus on cultivating additional features that if included in backpacks, act as product defining qualities that represent an imperative stride toward improving the organizational problem outlined in the original brief. This resolution conserves the essence of the problem with respect to organization related to bags, while also ensuring that our design solutions are unique and divergent such that they do not resemble existing, viable solutions to the problem. These changes ultimately had vast implications on the manner in which we approached constraints prescribed in the original brief, which were centered on the design of new bag. For example, the constraints section of the brief entails that "the bag must be the same size as the general daily carry bag" as well as that the [bag] must be waterproof. These specifications, in addition to the rest of the constraints section, were disregarded to a significant extent to ensure that the design concept solutions would not necessarily be limited to an improved, redesigned bag. Moreover, the modifications we imposed compelled our group to define a new set of criteria which seek to ensure that the conceptual designs developed by our group accomplish the following: 1. Maximize accessibility to, and organization of specific items that may be carried (metric: the ease with which a specific item can be extracted from the bag and the period of time necessary to do so) Preserve items and materials being carried by commuters and students alike (metric: how effectively a student/commuter can carry necessary items without causing them to deteriorate in some form) Minimize the space required to store necessary items (metric: volume, in meters cubed) Compatibility with existing bags (metric: the amount of redesign necessary to incorporate the feature into current bags and the cost associated with the process)

2.

3. 4.

The extent to which design solutions solve the problem will be determined using these criteria.

Redesign of the Lunch Bag

Removable lunch compartment
One solution to the problem of organization in a backpack is to redesign the lunch compartment. Many students pack a lunch every day, and a healthy lunch can take up about 4000 cm of space in your bag. That is a significant amount of space, and keeping your lunch outside of the main compartment of a backpack leaves more space for books and a laptop. The solution proposed in this conceptual report is a removable lunch compartment. A reference design for this can be seen in figure 1, where plastic clips are used to attach the bag. However, because it is on the outside of the bag, durability is important. Plastic clips can break easily. Another design was looked at where the lunch bag was attached with magnets. This idea is more durable, but the magnets added extra weight to the bag which our group decided was unnecessary. Instead, this new detachable lunch bag will use zippers to be removed. Two zippers can be used, one on each side of the bag. These keep the lunch securely in place throughout the day. Another aspect of the organization of a bag is how easily the bag can be kept clean. Because the lunch bag is removable, it can then be easily washed without having to completely empty and wash the entire bag.
Sides of the lunch bag zipped on

Figure 1: Clip on lunch bags are common on childrens backpacks

Redesign of the Lunch Bag

Keeping the Lunch Bag Clean
To keep the rest of the bag clean in the event of a spill, many lunch bags are made out of cheap, plastic coated material (see figure 2). However, this material rips easily and causes condensation to build up on the inside of the bag. The inside of this lunch bag would be made out of higher quality GORTEX fabric, which is used commonly in raincoats. GORTEX fabric is created by laminating a membrane over top of a textile. This creates a fabric which has over 9 billion microscopic pores per square inch. These pores are too small for water droplets to fit through, but large enough for water vapour to escape. This would minimize the condensation buildup on the inside of the lunch bag. In addition, the small size of the pores means that dirt particles cant get trapped in the fabric, making it easy to clean and stain resistant. Additional removable lunch bags could be included in the purchase of this backpack, or be sold separately. Then if something spills in the lunch bag and the user does not have time to wash it, they can simply zip on another lunch bag for the day.
Figure 3: GORTEX fabric keeps water out, but lets water vapour through.

Figure 2: Inside of lunch compartment is made of waterproof plastic

Adjustable Size
Another feature of the lunch bag concept is allowing adjustable size. The bottom of this bag will be accordion folded and secured in place with Velcro. When the Velcro is undone, it creates more space in the bag. The reason this is important is that when there is lots of extra space in the lunch bag, items can roll around and bump into each other, causing fruit to bruise and containers to spill. However, different people have different lunch needs, and making a small lunch bag would not be suitable for everyone. Bringing a salad vs. a sandwich for lunch can take very different amounts of space in the bag. The Velcro and accordion fold create a lunch bag which is suitable for more diverse lunches.
Backpack Backpack Side view: Lunch bag can be expanded to fit more or less items. The red represents Velcro strap to keep it in place.

Practical Keys and Wallet Pouch

The second design option is a hidden compartment along the outside of the bag. This dequirement for the bag to be cleaned easily. In case something does spill, the compartment sign allows for the user to easily access important items during travel, such as keys or mon- is designed to be completely removable so that it can be washed easily. ey. The compartment addresses key issues in the brief, such as maintainability and efficienPocket Cushioning cy by allowing the user to clean the compartment easily and find objects quickly without having to search through the entire bag. The pocket will also be fully cushioned. The cushioning will be made out of foam padding to prevent the edges of objects inside the key compartment from being worn down as the bag Bag Materials may hit other surfaces or objects during the commute or school day. This pocket will be The container will also have additional features such as waterproof material and cushiontwice as thick as the other parts of the bag. ing. The waterproof material will keep liquids that spill inside the bag from getting into the compartment, and also keep wallet dry if it is raining. This compartment will satisfy the reIn terms of consumer use, the advantage is that the bag allows the user to easily access important items. This is especially important for commuters, since it will allow them to access items easily during travel without having to take off their bag and search through it. As well, the compartment has other distinct advantages such as the waterproof, removable feature which allows for ease of maintenance and the hidden opening which prevents theft. The downside is that it may be uncomfortable for users since the objects in the pocket may be protruding and making contact with the users backpack. As well, it may be hard to incorporate into already manufactured bags.

Practical Keys and Wallet Pouch

Cost
The overall cost of the bag would come from the cost of manufacturing, specifically the cost of the materials and assembly. The cost should be relatively low as there are no complex, moving or electronic parts. Based on the assumption that the pocket will be mostly made out of nylon, which costs $10.00 for 152cm by 152cm, and foam padding, which costs $11.75 for a 51cm x 51cm sheet, the estimated total cost of a 30cm by 30cm by 3cm pocket will cost roughly $5.50. Based on comparisons with similar products with the same design, the bag should have a lifespan of approximately two years depending on frequency of use and level of care. There are no additional costs for maintenance during the two years.

Redesign of a Pencil Case

Having damaged stationeries can be an extremely problematic situation for university students. We require stationeries for class throughout the day, our ability to get the most out of lectures is reduced. Furthermore, finding replacements for the damaged stationeries would require more time. Creating a compartment in a backpack that protects the stationery items would help personal efficiency of university students. After gathering data from students in engineering at University of Toronto, it was found that around 29.12% of students have had items damaged due to their backpack in this school year so far. By fixing this problem, these students would not have to deal with replacing their damaged stationeries. One of the most common uses of backpacks is to carry stationaries along with books. Although backpacks serve well for bringing everything you need to school ranging from stationaries, books and sports items, the items damaged are usually caused by the items within the bag crushing each other. The main objects damaged are generally stationeries within the pencil cases which are crushed by the pressure of other items in the bag. To deal with this problem, we came up with a solution for having a
Figure 2

special pencil case compartment that can withstand the pressure of items around it without being bulky. The design we have based the outer pencil case on looks similar to the pencil case in figure 1. However, rather than an individual pencil case, it is part of the backpack as a separate compartment. As you can see in figure 2, the compartment would be accessible through the zipper shown by the black white crossed lines. The general design of the compartment has curved edges to cushion the edges as well. This is the design based on the example from figure 1.

Figure 1

Redesign of a Pencil Case

Furthermore, the design of the compartment consists of a cloth outer case, cushion foam mid case and an inner cloth case. The reason why we decided to go with this design is due to problems that hard and soft cases present. Most hard cases cause problems because they tend to be too bulky. Soft cases provide no protection from other heavy objects in the bag. With cushion foam between the outer and inner case, it provides the protection while remaining compact in comparison to the other two general types. The design inside will have slots and mini compartments to provide organization and efficiency of finding items. The internal design will be similar to the items based in the Swiss Gear SWA1902 model show in figure 4.
Figure 3

Overall, the design of the pencil case is a way to protect your stationery items while being very condensed and efficient space wise. Unlike the example from the Swiss Gear backpack model SWA1902, the outer component is protected with cushioning around the whole surface between the pencil compartment and the main compartment behind it.

Figure 4

Final Design Decision

Choosing a Concept Design Solution The criteria in the weighted matrix correspond to the criteria outlined in the design reframing section of this brief. Scoring System ranges from 1-5
Criteria Weight

1 2 3 4
Design Solution Criteria 1 Score Criteria 2 Score

0.40 0.30 0.10 0.20

Criteria 3 Score Criteria 4 Score Final Score

1 2 3

4.5 4.5 4.0

4.5 4.0 4.0

4.0 4.0 3.5

3.5 3.5 4.5

4.25 4.10 4.05

As seen in the matrix above, Concept Design Solution 1, the removable lunch compartment is ranked as the most appropriate solution developed. It nullifies the need for consumers to place food items in a separate lunch bag, thus decreasing the time required and exertion involved in extracting the necessary food items. Moreover, it allows consumers to avoid placing a separate lunch bag in a compartment which could otherwise be used for other items and has an adjustable size, thus liberating more space within the bag for other items. Additionally, its capability of being removed coupled with its implementation of GORTEX and waterproof fabric enables consumers to easily clean the compartment and prevents the effects of potential spills from affecting the entire bag. These factors ultimately ensure the preservation of the compartment, other items placed in the bag as well as the integrity of the food items placed inside in compliance with Criteria 2. Thus while the removable lunch may be costly due to its use of expensive materials, it is the most effective at providing a solution to the problem outlined in the original brief.

Sources
W. L. Gore & Associates. How Does GORTEX Fabric Work?. 2012 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. http:// www.gore-tex.com/remote/Satellite/content/how-does-it-work-breathable NSW HSC Online. Properties and Performance of Textiles. Charles Sturt University. http://hsc.csu.edu.au/ textiles_design/performance/2742/hilite.htm Peng, Jeffrey. "Damaged Items Due to Backpack...." 15 2012. N.p., Online Posting to Facebook University of Toronto Engineering. Web. 17 Nov. 2012.