Tokyo Work Bag
This professional commuter bag combines clean, minimalist design with clever access.
I worked as the lead designer on this project, with the support of the rest of the Bellroy Design and Development Teams. I'd also like to thank the Bellroy Creative Team for their consistently excellent work in styling and photographing the Bellroy products.
An everyday work bag that really sings to Bellroy’s modern professional customers. It is a thoughtful balance between the traditional laptop bag format and the fresh updates and details that make it both more functional and more appealing. The design focuses on getting good access to your work gear and adds in features that competition may not have like a bottle pocket and sunglasses pocket.
Focusing On Access
The zipper opens from either end of the bag, providing surprising visibility and access to the main section of the bag. This zipper setup was first done in the Bellroy Venture Sling and applied here to provide that same great accessibility.
One of the main areas of focus for this project was the front pocket. The goal was to create a clean and traditional look from the front of the bag, but to surprise users with access and functionality when it came to using the front pockets. A single zipper provides access to both of the two front pockets, and a center divider creates helpful organization while giving the pocket depth from front to back.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
The design process included multiple samples that I built in-house at the Bellroy workshop, as well as factory built samples. The initial samples focused on volume, layout and general design, built without the lining or interior organization.
The third sample that I built was a pretty big jump in fidelity, adding in lining, handle details, and a laptop sleeve. Making these in-house samples let us really quickly make progress in the early stages of the design before we ever sent specs to the factory.
Sample number four was our first factory-built sample. We tried out a few different details that didn't end up in the final design, like the top-stitch details on the front of the bag, visible shoulder strap anchors, and looped-leather zipper pulls.
By sample number five we had most of the details sorted. Construction for the front pocket with a single zipper access into the two front pockets had been resolved. The final decisions included choosing a zipper style and adjusting the bottle pocket functionality. From here the specs were given a final update and the project was handed over to the development team.
