EDC: Tote Bag Organizer and Pen Holder Clip

Timeline: February – March 2024

Role: Product Designer

Type: Physical Product Prototype

Picture this: you’re packing your everyday carry items for a day out, but realizing that all you’re really doing is throwing everything you think you might need and more into the black hole that is your tote bag. And later, when you actually have to get something out, you end up rummaging through your bag for what seems like way too long and end up forgetting what you were even looking for…

Though tote bags are really easy to grab on the go and carry around, it’s still hard to find and retrieve things in because the bag is essentially one big pocket that cannot store things in one specific place, upright, or in a way that is easy to locate. So, having an appropriate, visible, and distinct place for everyday carry items in a tote bag would help make this process less cumbersome.

Final Prototype

Product Proposal + Background

The tote bag organizer should have various compartments and features that will be gathered from user interviews. After conducting the interviews, a list of needs that users have for a tote bag organizer will be compiled and prototyping can begin. The tote bag organizer is intended for users of tote bags who need more organization inside the bags for easy access to items, such as laptop, wallet, and water bottle or cup. The biggest risks will probably be deciding on what compartments will be integrated and the sizing of such, as people have varying laptop sizes, notebook sizes, water bottle sizes, etc., so making things adjustable or accommodating for most will be important to analyze via prototyping and user feedback sessions.

Tote bags can be handy to use on the go, as they are simple in design, versatile, and flexible for various situations, like grocery shopping or going out for a walk. However, item organization and obtainment on the go can be difficult, as most tote bags are just one big pocket. Items can move around in the bag throughout the day, and it can be inconvenient and time consuming to have to dig through a tote bag and a number of items to find a singular one.

Though the addition of an inner or outer pocket can be useful, it is still not designated for certain items, so things can get lost in those as well. Having experienced this firsthand and seeing how my friends have interacted with their tote bags, it could take awhile to fish out apartment keys, a pen, or headphones among the extra sweater, book, snack, water bottle, and toiletry bag, for example, in the bag. Providing distinct places for items inside a bag could allow users to have an optimized item organization and retrieval experience.

A Testable Prototype

From the user interviews, six different designated compartments for six main everyday carry items–phone, wallet, keys, headphones/small compact items, wallet, and laptop. From the dimensions of a standard 15” x 15” tote bag, four different pockets were created and sewn into a tote bag organizer that measured 12” x 12”. These four pockets were for a phone, water bottle, headphones/small items, and wallet/ larger items. A key clip was also included in the prototype but did not make it to the usability test, as it was not secure enough on the fabric (was removed). An area for pens to be attached to via pen clip was also included. A laptop could be placed outside of the organizer in the tote for easy access and upright storage.

The testable prototype was made out of muslin fabric that was triple layered and had inserts for cardboard at the bottom and two narrow sides for support. The cardboard was placed into an insert in the muslin rather than sewn into the muslin to allow for removal for washing/care and compact storage of the tote organizer. In addition to using a sewing machine, due to space and resource availability, most of the fabric was stapled together.

Product Feedback

The first step in the design process consisted of user interviews to get a feel of what users would need and want via Google Forms. The following prompts/questions were included in the interview questionnaire:

  1. Name

  2. Age

  3. Occupation (if student, state what school)

  4. Where do you live? (city, state)

  5. How often do you use tote bags on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being never and 5 being always?

  6. What are your everyday carry items?

  7. Walk me through the process of how you get ready to head out for a typical day, with consideration to your everyday carry items, how you carry them, etc.

  8. How do you decide when to bring a bag with you when going out and what kind of bag to bring?

  9. What is most important for you when considering what kind of bag to carry (can choose more than 1 option):
    ☐ organization: lots of pockets
    ☐ convenience: things are where they should be and easy for me to get
    ☐ large storage space
    ☐ lightweight
    ☐ compactness
    ☐ efficiency: it will only carry what I need
    ☐ style/aesthetic
    ☐ security: zippers, button closure
    ☐ other

  10. What do you think can make the process of organizing your tote bag easier for you?

  11. Any other questions, feedback, etc.?

Eight responses were collected and the participants ranged from 20-45 years of age (median = 24.75 years). Three out of the eight participants stated they were students in college (undergraduate) while the others are all employed full-time. Three reside in Boston, while the rest live in New York City. 37.5% of users said they use a tote bag most of the time (rank 4), while 25% use a tote bag always (rank 5), 25% occasionally use one (rank 2), and 12.5% sometimes use a tote (rank 3). The respondents’ everyday carry items did vary, as expected, but there were many items in common, such as phone, wallet, keys, water bottle, AirPods/headphones, toiletry bag, computer, lip balm, and gum. Users also noted that the type of bag they choose depends on their intended activity, style/aesthetic, and how much they need for the intended activity. A majority of users prioritize the organization (87.5%), style/aesthetic (87.5%), convenience (75%), and lightweight-ness (62.5%) of what kind of bag they decide to carry. All users mentioned pockets of different/various sizes in answering how the process of organizing a tote bag can be made easier, with high consideration to pockets with designated purposes.

It was gathered that the three participants from a usability testing session (three participants) that their habits corresponded with those from the user interviews. Two usability testers described how they do not use a tote bag because it is not organized at all, they carry too many things, or they would rather use a backpack, while one usability tester is a dedicated tote bag user but needs some organization system to make her life easier. Furthermore, two testers responded saying that they would just throw their everyday carry items into a tote bag because there is no organization and even if they ordered things, they would move around eventually (which all three agreed upon). All three testers were able to successfully use the tote bag organizer prototype, and were overall satisfied with the designated pockets and being able to remember where they put what.

Final Prototype

The final product design includes all pockets from the previous prototype, with a modified pen pocket and a loop for a carabiner. The materials were the same and dimensions were approximately the same. All pieces were either sewn together or hot glued, instead of stapled.

Future Work Summary

If the timeline of the project were to be extended by three weeks, I would create a paper template for each piece of fabric and cardboard so that each organizer can be a consistent size. I would also purchase and use a 10 oz duck cotton canvas instead of layers of muslin for durability and longevity of the product. Instead of cardboard, I would try using interfacing to make the sides more rigid without extra weight. I would also alter the assembly process, as for the prototypes I could have been more precise and spent more time sewing and glueing pieces together. I would sew in all pockets onto the sides first, then sew the larger side panels together. I would also experiment with pocket closure methods (velcro, buttons, zippers) and creating a better key attachment.

Creative scholars and professionals need a way to carry their necessities with them on the go without the bulk or clutter of having to pack multiple unneeded writing utensils. Having a pencil case with all your favorite pens and pencils doesn’t have to be necessary all the time–when was the last time you needed more than one writing utensil?

This small pen holder clip can attach to a book cover, between the pages of a notebook, or serve as a page holder for your planner. With creative individuals ranging from students to professionals in mind, the pen clip is designed to be simple to use and to look at. The pen clip is designed especially for Muji ballpoint pens, as almost every student I’ve met in undergrad had at least one Muji ballpoint pen on hand. Other pens with a 1 cm (about 0.39 in) diameter can fit in the pen loop, and those that are narrower with a built-in clip can attach to the loop as well. The clip is multi-functional in the sense that it serves as a single pen holder and a bookmark. It can be used for a variety of situations, such as for annotating and keeping your page of a book on the train preparing for taking notes at a meeting, or for marking up your personal planner. It is handy for having on your books to save time looking for a pen to use while keeping the bulk of your everyday carry creative items to just your book! 

Slide the pen clip to the cover of your planner, the book you’re reading, or on your class notebook pages, put your favorite Muji ballpoint pen in the loop, and now you’re ready to write tasks in, annotate in the margins, or jot down equations without the bulk of a pencil case! 

Project deliverable: magazine spread

Usability Testing

For product testing, I created a Google Form consisting of the following questions and responses (10 participants):

  1. How old are you? (dropdown menu of under 18-over 27)*

  2. What is your occupation (multiple choice: student, employed, other)*

  3. Do you use Muji ballpoint pens? (multiple choice: yes, no)

  4. How many pens do you typically use in one sitting? e.g. while taking class notes, writing a homework assignment, compiling a to-do list (short answer)

  5. How do you carry your everyday writing tools and supplementary materials (e.g. a notebook)? (short answer)

  6. What things do you think of or prioritize when packing your items for class or work? (short answer)

  7. This is the pen clip I designed specifically for a Muji pen that you can attach to a book, notebook, clipboard, etc. [insert image]. What would you use the pen clip for and how and/or why? (short answer)

  8. Walk me through how you would put a pen in the clip.

9. Any other comments or feedback?

*These two questions were added after 4 people participated in the questionnaire

Assumptions:

  • Target audience = students and professionals who use a Muji pen for writing

  • People going to be around 20 something years old

  • People who take survey most likely want to have Muji pen around when they have a notebook/book

  • Muji pen is their go-to

Key findings:

  • Efficiency is important

  • Participants typically use 1-2 pens in one sitting

  • Some participants use pencil cases, others just have writing utensils in a pocket of/in their bag

  • Most participants thought to slide the pen through the loop (through the top) but did not specify which direction the pen would be facing (one person said nib down, another said bottom down)

  • Design of clip was intuitive, design of loop intuitive

  • Some participants pointed out that the clip on the pen cap could be used in some way–either attaching only the clip through the loop or using the pen cap clip as a stopper/extra security for the pen staying in place in the loop

  • Some participants were concerned about pen type/size as well as capacity of the clip on page/book thickness, so making the pen loop fit more than just a Muji pen would be beneficial and the clip be strong enough to stay in place, not fall off, and attach to varying page thicknesses

  • Participants able to differentiate between pen clip and pen cap clip, and saw value in the pen clip over just using the built-in pen cap clip (would go further in user interviews and usability testing to see which is better fit for user need)

Design suggestions

  • Making pen clip’s loop accommodate for more types of pens (I experimented with an open loop by cutting the circle with scissors, creating a very thin opening)

  • Testing out varying loop sizes for fitting the pen through

  • Muji pens are not uniform in thickness from top to bottom (bottom end is thicker than nib/cap end)

  • Incorporate using the pen cap clip into instructions/securing the pen in the pen clip

  • Testing out varying clip widths and lengths for security and page-number capacity