Keeper Purse
The Keeper Purse was created for a Soft Goods elective at the University of Utah. The class placed emphasis on the life cycle of soft goods, specifically bags.
Named for its deceiving storage potential, the Keeper Purse is an essential bag for anyone on the go.
“This bag is for carrying essentials and is an essential itself. Designed to fit essentials that transcend setting. From a night out to running errands, this stylish bag features minimal exterior detailing to seamlessly accompany any wardrobe.
Inside a zippered main pocket is a smaller pocket along one side. The exterior is PU leather while the interior is satin. This bag sets itself apart from others by retaining its unique shape whether empty or full.”
Process:
Market Research, Ideation:
This project began with a pre-existing bag. Inspired by a well-loved bag I inherited from my mother, the Keeper Purse started as a replacement for an essential in my rotation.
By looking beyond the product itself, and more at the purpose it served, I was able to identify the gap where I could design.
Drawing:
The bulk of this process was the physical drawings and iterations. Once I identified the gap I was designing for, I drew countless different handbag ideas, that called to me and fit my parameters. When I narrowed it down to the shape I kept coming back to, I kept iterating on that drawing to finalize the details.
Tech Pack:
After I finalized my hand drawing, I brought it into the digital space, using Illustrator. This step also resulted in precision and consistency where my hand drawing let me down.
This also led to constructing physical prototypes, from both paper and fabric.
Working from the digital render and iterating based on prototypes, I created a tech pack explaining each aspect of the bag. Part of this was examining real factory samples of materials and accurately describing colorways and details.
This Francesco Biasia bag was originally purchased from a department store in the 1990s, and the timeless style withstood the test of time. However, some of the features, from the closure to the material, started to show its age.
