Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The Drawstring Bag You Never Knew You Needed

Alex Lee, creator of
 Action DB Pro
The backpack has become an essential item that everybody uses to transport belongings with them as they move about their daily lives. However, there has always been problems with various designs. Some may be too bulky, uneven, or just not big enough to hold all the things that need to be taken. That is where a drawstring bag comes into play. A drawstring bag is lightweight and small, perfect for a few items that need to be taken quickly. A mobile lifestyle is not complete without some version of a drawstring bag. However, many drawstring bags are made of material that is so light, it is structurally compromised. The cloth may tear, or the strings may fray. If only there was an ideal drawstring bag that was easy to use and had all the essentials needed for an active, on-the-go lifestyle.
That is where the Action DB Pro comes in. This drawstring was created as a kickstarter by Alex Lee, who is the creator of Mochibag. This company has re-engineered the typical drawstring bag. Lee obtained a bachelors degree in business from Northern Illinois University, and had no training in any aspects of mechanical engineering or design at the time he came up with the concept of the Action DB Pro. He was inspired by his own interactions with other drawstring bags, which he noted would constantly break, or that the straps would become uneven. After having countless problems, Lee decided to start to work on the design of the simple bag to see if he could eliminate some of the problems he was running into. Lee designed several prototypes before he found success on kickstarter, and he is now being approached by various sports agencies looking to pair athletes to his bag.
GoPro Ready
The Action DB Pro
The Action DB Pro comes in two colors and two sizes, to cater to different individuals based on build and personal preference. Each bag has a front panel, a main pocket, and 3 zip pockets that are advertised to be weather proof, keeping belongings safe if an unforeseen rain shower hits on the way home. The bag comes with waist straps to keep the bag secure, which also double as an accessory strap to carry things externally as well. Lee patented a type of string called Channel-Anchored Drawstrings that keep the length of the cords balanced, so the bag will not unevenly slide from shoulder to shoulder, regardless of how heavy or light the contents are. Lee took the bag a step ahead of just being a bag, he added the capability to attach a GoPro to the front in order to record anything on the go without hassle. Included with the bag is a drinking tube that can connect to a water supply, allowing the user to be able to drink without stopping and rummaging around their belongings for a water bottle.

All the features needed for an active lifestyle
Lee successfully designed a bag that opens easily, can carry considerable weight, is weatherproof/ water resistance, durable, and overall perfect for a mobile lifestyle. I believe that the creative process Lee uses can be described as Collecting. We discussed in class how Steve Jobs used collecting when he designed different fonts for Mac early in his career. He took what he saw in calligraphy and applied it to a brand new setting with amazing results. Lee used the same approach. He observed what he believed to be flaws with the bags he was using, and took his observations and applied them to create the Action BD Pro. Had it not been for his collecting process, Lee would not be able to see what was wrong with current products, and as a result, would not be able to offer a better alternative in his creative product. Creativity is not always coming up with a brand new idea. Improving on an already existing idea is creative as well. Lee applied new ideas to an existing concept, and the result was an essentially new product that supersedes its predecessor in all the right ways.   



2 comments:

  1. As a person who has lived out of a backpack, I really like the idea of a lightweight, compact, and durable drawstring bag without all the fuss. Lee’s bag seems to have everything going for it, but I cannot help but ask if this is really an example of collecting? Lee’s bag appears to me to fix previous issues that he experienced with drawstring bags in a more trial-and-error fashion. I do not see what idea he “collected” and utilized in a new and creative fashion. This may be to a misunderstanding of the idea of collecting, or maybe there are alternative perspectives. Either way, I know always will have use for a durable bag like this.

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  2. This seems like a cool invention, but I'm wondering how they would market it to be better than a backpack. Simply saying something is lightweight may not be good enough to sell better than conventional backpacks. If proven to be effective, this could be a great invention, especially for those of us who constantly feel back aches because of heavy backpacks.

    I see how you relate this to collecting. He used his past experiences to backpack to find a problem and create a solution. What do you think was his creative process to solving the problem? I see how he used collection to find the problem, but not quite how he found the solution.

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