@ CMU School of Design
8 Weeks. Fall 2024.

For students and backpack-wearers searching for
an easy, secure, and stylish way to transport items 
one might not want to shove inside of their backpack.










The  was designed to improve the existing experience of transporting food and meals amongst college students, but has become useful in a greater range of contexts.




1. How does it work?
Unclasp the Hitch’s front closure, pull the strap through your backpack hook and weave through one side of the closure’s tails. Reclasp, and go!





2. Design Considerations
My main objectives were as follows:






FUNCTIONALITIES:
1. Hands-free-transport, outside of your backpack.
2. Can wear on backpack or on shoulder.
3. Close-able, semi-insulated, waterproof interior.
4. Reliably sturdy for stress-free handling.
5. Can stand up on its own when packed.

MATERIAL:
1. Machine-washable.
2. Durable, sustainable, weighted.
3. Variable across different iterations.

AESTHETICS:
1. Stylish and visually appealing.
2. Can be tweaked depending on user’s style and desire for a gendered or androgynous appearance.
3. Visually unique with a signature form and stitch system.





3. The Hitch Bag System

It’s not just a bag:

1. Hitch Bag
Physical full-fidelity, high-quality, hand-fabricated prototypes

2. Custom Sewing Pattern

Completely original sewing pattern created from scratch with strategic planning for intended functions and capabilities.

3. Bag Construction Guide
Full instruction guide on how to construct the Hitch Bag so that others can create it themselves. View the full guide.











Construction & Process


Form Searching & Fabrication
I relied on both drawings and rapid physical prototyping to determine the form that best fit my functional, material, and aesthetic goals.








I also made an extra full, final-fidelity model to adequately learn more about the design and pattern I had created before designating it as completed.

This taught me that my pattern and steps could be hard to replicate and follow precisely, and some steps had been overcomplicated. I was then able to adjust my guide to improve these issues.














SKILLS
Textile Fabrication
Pattern-Making
Drawing / Ideating
Physical Prototyping
Project Mapping
Research
Documentation




TOOLS
Sewing Machine
Misc. Sewing Tools
Adobe CC
   Illustrator
   Photoshop
   inDesign

+ Bonus if you’ve read this far and have time.
If you want to look right into my brain, check out my UNEDITED CONSTRUCTION GUIDE.
Haha... This is very vulnerable of me. You’re welcome? Unless you hate it, then I’m sorry?