Design Philosophy 101

The funny looking picture in this post is a paper mock up of a prototype of the Onli Venture ™ backpack and rolling bag. I thought it was a good picture to help describe the design philosophy that underlies Onli Travel products:

1. Good ideas can come from anywhere! The paper mockup is made by the factory in Vietnam that makes our product. We worked with them for over a year in designing our product, and they contributed countless good ideas! Far from being a distant source of low-cost labor, they are a modern multi-national innovator that partners deeply with their customers. In addition to their ideas, over five designers at some point worked on the Onli Venture bag, and each contributed to solving some problem. I also asked countless travelers what they wanted in a bag, and got some great ideas from the travelers in the seat next to me. And the smart engineers at YKK helped me engineer the zipper tensile strength tolerances exactly right.

2. The customer should have the choice! With the Onli Venture backpack, you can: - Have a sternum strap or not (it’s fully removable)        

- Have a hip belt or not (it’s optional)        

- Roll it or put it on your back, or switch between the modes easily        

- Expand the suitcase or not        

- Expand the daypack or not        

- Carry the daypack like a briefcase, or on your back        

- Have two daypacks or one.

We believe that no other bag has this kind of a commitment to customer choice. You can literally make this bag what you want it to be... and you can change your mind while you’re on the road!

3. Design for functionality, and quality, and style! You won’t find a more rugged pack, with more valuable features, or better organization. But you also won’t find another pack that is as good looking, that can move from the boardroom to the playroom to the city street without losing it’s authenticity and character. It’s full of features that make your life easier, like the flawless organization, the Checkpoint Friendly certification, and the ability to split into pieces to enable you to carry it onto a crowded plane. But, it’s also full of features to make it look great, from the dark grey heather to the smooth curves of the pockets (which also enable easy zipping) to the reassuring feel of the leather handles. And, it also is full of features that ensure durability and fight for you on the road, like the zip-up rear cover to protect the back padding, the bumpers at the bottom to resist wear and tear, and the use of highest-quality YKK zippers throughout the bag.

4. Enable one-bag travel, and increase flexibility and convenience for the traveler! These are the values we are all about, and every decision about the design of our products is guided by this philosophy. We know how much easier it is to travel with onli one bag, never checked, hands free, as long as you want, in the style you want. And we intend to deliver on this promise to our travelers.

So, we love paper prototypes... so long as they turn into the Onli Bag You’ll Ever Need.