Step 4 – Development, advanced graphics and layout

Introduction

After leaps and bounds in the development and design of the project (as a whole and the individual parts) I was ready to begin making more finalised versions of my designs. This section of the project was very time consuming, and very difficult for me; because I had to create each drawing from scratch. Since I was working with flat vector images in Illustrator I not simply make something that I could rotate to get a different angle. Each different angle, each separate element had to be made from scratch…they were all unique images (for a select few which had major similarities I was able to copy and paste and make the necessary adjustments, but on the whole this was NOT the case). 

I think I ended up making over 50 separate illustrations to show every perspective and function, which really pushed my abilities as a designer and tested my software skills. I hope this is conveyed appropriately in the following screen-shots and examples; all the effort I put into making the suitcase from all possible perspectives (side, profile, head on, birds eye view, close ups, interior view). This is fully evident in the final design.

If you have never worked in Illustrator before, or never worked with vector graphics,  you may not realise that the medium is not as user friendly compared to other forms of graphic design. This is because, though it provides flexibility, with that comes a need for tedious precision which makes the simplest changes take forever.  

The examples presented here are only a select few, the most important and relevant ones, which best illustrate the changes and developments I did to my design. The images below are screenshots I took to show the visual style I was using for my final graphics (which I intentionally based on the style in Samsonite product manuals). 

image source (close-up suitcase vector): original graphics made by myself.

These examples show the level of detail I was trying to put into my designs to achieve correct perspective and realistic representation. Creating a realistic suitcase was one thing, because I was able to use photos and real models for this. But then, adding my additional baby bed features meant I essentially had to work from my imagination and my sketches to try show what these ideas would look like in reality. As I stated before, drawing is not my area of expertise, so creating realistic 2D representations (even with the help of Illustrator) was honestly a challenge. Perspective and continuity were the main things I struggled with in my designs. I was able to eventually achieve an accurate level of perspective thanks to using reference images (a good practice any illustrator would recommend) and also using the inbuilt features of the software (such as grids and guidelines). I resolved the continuity issues thanks to feedback from fellow designers. I was aware that both these areas were problematic for me, and therefore decided to outsource help in a professional manner.  

image source (suitcase vector): original graphics made by myself.

Below are some of my working design sheets, showing my work in progress. For the final three A3 design concepts I had an excess of images actually, and needed to select only the ones I absolutely needed because of the limited space. This forced me to work within the constraints of communicating my idea fully in a limited series of steps. The final images had to flow from one to the other, and show only what was relevant and necessary. 

In the screenshots below you can probably pick out a lot of images which were an important part of my concept development, but did not make it onto my final design sheets. This is a shame because some of them were very visually impressive or perhaps they were images I had put a great deal of time and effort into. 

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image source (design vectors): original graphics made by myself.

image source (cover system): original graphics made by myself.

The design below shows how I finally resolved the placement of the roof cover system when it is not in use. Once again I had to find the most appropriate storage solution for the roof cover within the suitcase. For this I used the side panel storage system as a base and tried to apply a similar principle to the roof cover storage.  The most effective solution (in terms of space and ease of use) I found to this was to have the roof cover material slide along the back and then across the bottom of the suitcase for storage. This would be in the lining of the suitcase, just like the side panels are. 

The direction arrows indicate the movement of the roof cover to take it out and assemble it with the side panels. I marked all the final designs with such directional arrows to reinforce to the user the correct way to use the product. 

image source (cover inside suitcase): original graphics made by myself.

The image below is a properly executed vector version of the sketch I showed earlier of the wheel design. I think that this more advanced graphic shows more clearly how the two pairs of small wheels (on the left and right) are meant to work in correspondence to the big wheel in the centre. 

 

image source (suitcase and wheel): original graphics made by myself.

The image below is a close-up of a wheel I created based on a reference image of an actual suitcase wheel. This particular image really exemplifies my attention to detail and ability to produce a realistic representation of a 3D object in a clean, slick and attractive manner. Within this design, as you may notice, I tried to specifically link in branding through adding little touches (such as the smiley face and the Samsonite logo). The branding links are not only there to add realism and look aesthetically pleasing, they are primarily there to incorporate the wheel design within the product design as a whole. This is a good design practice to be aware of and is used commonly within the industry in product at a professional standard. I am personally very proud of this particular design, and it does stand out as a major achievement for me in terms of skill and idea communication. But, because of the space constraints in the final A3 design sheets, this wheel design was simply not necessary and therefore I had to make the difficult compromise of not including amongst the final designs. 

image source (detailed shoes): original graphics made by myself.

This was another design I made, this time of the actual user intended for the product. I actually did need to include baby vector graphics in my final designs but I ended up not using this one because of the perspective, I simply did not need it. In comparison to the wheel design, I do not feel this design was as successful. It was not as complex on one hand, but then again, it was dealing with a completely different subject matter. Making the leap from wheel and suitcases, to human life forms is difficult. But, I feel I still managed to get a lot out of this experience. 

image source (baby): original graphics made by myself.

Some other changes and developments…

• I changed the product name from TravBed to DreamCase based on feedback from fellow designers who felt the name needed to be more appropriate to the intended audience. TravBed sounded too corporate and dull, it did not reflect the baby/parent users of this product. The name should have connotations of comfort, cuteness, function and should ideally also link back to the fact that it is a suitcase. Choosing the right name for a product is crucial because it can make or break it when released on the market. The ‘dream’ part of the name links to the bed function of the product (which then have connotations of dreaming). The ‘case’ part of the name, links to the core element behind the design which is a suitcase. 
• One further addition I made to my product design, was to include a safety belt for securing the baby in place during travel (when the stroller function of the baby bed suitcase would be in use). 

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