Design Concept for Thule Luggage - A Flexible Solution for Traveling with Multiple Bags

Sammanfattning: During travels, people want to be able to move fast and smooth from point A to point B. Thereby, many people can relate to the struggles which occur when carrying several belongings simultaneously. This master’s thesis was performed in collaboration with Thule Sweden AB and the purpose was to develop a design concept which would make it easier to travel with a wheeled luggage in combination with a secondary bag such as a laptop bag or handbag. The design process started off with benchmarking competitors and their solutions to similar problems followed by a user study including observations of travelers and their habits, interviews and user journeys. From this, key findings were gathered and served as foundation for the identification of user needs, creating of personas and for decomposing the problem into the most important functions. Based on these, a large number of concepts were produced in a first concept generation phase through brainstorming, sketching and parallel prototyping. The concepts were evaluated and one was chosen to be elaborated in a second concept generation phase. The final concept is called Thule Unite and is a feature which enables fast and easy attachment of a secondary bag onto a wheeled luggage. The solution consists of a bar, equipped with two elastic bands, integrated into the wheeled luggage and does not interfere with the design of the luggage nor its fixed- and telescopic handle. When using Thule Unite the user places their secondary bag on top of the wheeled luggage, pulls the bar over and around the bag and the telescopic tubes and then releases it. The bar is pulled against the telescopic tubes by the elastic bands which are at the same time pressing the secondary bag towards the wheeled luggage. Thule Unite allows fastening of various types and sizes of secondary bags and is easily managed with only one hand. The concept aim travelers who are not willing to compromise in the choice of their personal everyday bag. The functional and minimalistic design of the concept would fit into a Thule wheeled luggage and achieve the company’s mission to help people transport the things they care for safely, easily and in style.