Beach Bag Designs  - “Eliza how do we design the perfect beach bag”?

 
Well, that’s it – all the kids have broken up from school that means everyone with little darlings of a certain age will be heading to the beach for at least a few days, ideally, rock pooling, sand castles, paddling, picnicking.  –Mum’s know you need to take literally the kitchen sink and the correct bag to carry all of these “what if supplies” is crucial.

So when we were asked by one of our key accounts to design Beach Bags for 2017 – that is when Eliza rolled up her sleeves and came up with a fantastic portfolio of design suggestions.

We were so impressed with this Emma and I felt it would be interesting to know a little bit more about Eliza's design process and thoughts on bags in general:

• Eliza how do you get your inspiration?
  

I usually use Pinterest to collect images that inspire me. They all vary in moods and themes, from flowers to jellyfish to fashion images. Primary images, though, are my favourite way to find inspiration, so when I am out and about I always make sure I take a camera with me. Beach photographs usually inspire me the most, and I draw freely from these images to find lots of interesting shapes. These shapes then turn into various bag parts and silhouettes and I work from there!

• How do you know which designs are right ?
  

Unlike in maths, there is no strict formula to follow when you’re designing bags. In design you can come up with hundreds of ideas before you come to any conclusions, and it’s all about searching for that perfect bag, a bag that ticks all the boxes but also appeals to a kind of sixth sense; it just feels right. Maybe this is a formula in itself?

• This was a fairly board brief – how do you feel about that ?
  

The process can be a blessing because the options and avenues to go down are almost limitless. It can also be a burden, though, because who actually knows what the correct answer is? And does a correct answer even exist? Design is a very extensive process and it really does depend on the individual’s taste. The subjective nature of design of course means that we don’t all like the same thing; there is truth behind the cliché ‘everybody’s different’! When designing I am always conscious that I am not going to please everyone, but if you can understand that and realize that nothing is perfect - at least not to start with - then you’re half way there.

WOW – well that knocked my socks off, what fantastic and well thought through responses.

I guess the client didn’t know (or care about) the process that had gone into their portfolio of 20+ design concepts – all I know is that within 24 hours they chose 3 designs (all very different) to “work up” so fingers crossed there will be an order in the pipeline for next years must have beach bag – another Owen Barry statement bag for sure.

Which pocket did I put the sunblock in !!!