I’M NOT REALLY AN ARTISTIC PERSON. I CAN’T DRAW OR PAINT, AND WHILE I ENJOY museums I don’t often seek them out. But I’ve always had an eye for good design, and I think most women have at least some appreciation for it — at least those of us who have ever stood in front of a closet thinking, “Which shoes really go with this outfit?” or experienced the retail corollary — trying on shoes and wondering, “What would I wear with these?”
So I was intrigued by the October issue of Fast Company featuring “Masters of Design.” Fast Company is the business magazine I look to for up-and-coming trends, and each of the past four years it has devoted a whole issue to design as an important aspect of business. One article cites a three-year study of more than 40 Fortune 500 companies, revealing that companies focused on customer-experience design outperformed the S&P 500 by a factor of ten-to-one. So design is more than just a pretty face — it impacts the bottom line. And that’s good for all of us.
Design, to me, goes a lot deeper than appearances. Good design is the sweet spot where appearance, function and emotion intersect. And that’s something embodied by a well-designed piece of luggage. A strong design has to look good in the store, it has to fulfill a function — getting your things from here to there — and ultimately, it should make you feel good (maybe not proud, but at least not embarrassed to be seen with it). Design, then, is a combination of good looks and impeccable function.
That brings me to the theme of this issue — the luggage wardrobe concept. None of us travel with a single piece of luggage. At the very least, we use two carry-ons (or, in TSA parlance, “one carry-on and one personal item”). Or we employ a combination of checked bags and carry-ons, in what you might call a luggage system — a collection of pieces selected to complement each other and smooth the journey. In very many ways, this mirrors the process a good product designer goes through to create a new piece of travelware — only we choose from different bags to create an ensemble, rather than picking from a variety of sizes, colors and materials to create a single bag.
By creating a luggage wardrobe we not only see that our own individual travel needs are met, but we project an image of how we want to be perceived. A 22" roller and computer brief say you’re traveling on business. A lightweight daypack with messenger bag tells them you’re still riding the dot.com boom (or missing your college years). A rugged, well-loved backpack and sturdy duffel say you’re ready for an eco-travel adventure, about to head for the wilderness (as you’ll read about in our feature on the growing business of socially and ecologically conscious travel).
There’s a common saying that you are what you wear. But as the world at large becomes more design-savvy, I think it’s increasingly true that you are what you carry. And that’s not just good for business — it’s very good for our business.
Editor-in-chief
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