The Challenge
Create a higher emotional connection with a travel luggage with users.
International students in the UK are frequent travellers whom fly long haul distances often 2-3 times a year to and from their home country. From interviewing various international students, there was a pattern within their user journey revealing that packing their suitcase was not an enjoyable experience.
Tools/Disciples
User Research
User Journey Mapping
UX Design
Product Design
CAD Modelling
These issues ruined the beginning of the students travels journey and thus lead to their dissatisfaction and negative experience. Using Maslow's Taxonomy of Needs, a new suitcase was to be designed to fulfill the upper level of needs whilst still maintaining the lower necessities.
Revive Excitement of Travelling
Showing off a lifestyle that represents the user as a frequent international traveller
Seamless Physical Interaction
Providing a smooth and satisfying experience with minimal disruption
Excitement
International students want to share their excitement and personality when travelling abroad. (e.g. social media, luggage personalisation, travelling with friends)
Opportunity
Travelling is a privileged lifestyle to these students and they wish to make the most of their opportunity overseas by travelling.
Experience
International students wants to show their seasoned experience for travelling and not be seen as immature.
Destination Light-up
Originally when the suitcase moves, users would be self conscious of the noise from the wheels and attract attention.
The LED lights capitalises this attention and transforms it into a personalised touch to represents the user’s personality and lifestyle.
The lights light up showing a landmark of the destination they are travelling to express the user’s excitement for travelling.
When the suitcase moves, an animation of the landmark will play, giving further meaning and excitement oftravelling.
These visual affordances creates higher esteem and self-actualisation leading to further emotional and personal value to the user.
Collapsible Wheels
The collapsible wheels fulfill the desire of the maturity of travel by allowing flexibility of being mobile and stationary.
When the suitcase needs to be stationary, users push the button next to the handle, an affordance to collapse the wheels.
