Um My name is Simon and I'm going to speak about designing for women on the move.Um to become more aware of the mindset of people that are moving from A to B I will show you some examples of people that are using some sort of user interface while moving. And the first one is you're running in the park, you're tracking your performance, how fast you go, how many miles and on your sport watch. Uh You see um how you're doing and you see the most relevant information. So that's the first situation to get you in the mindset of uh people that are moving from A to B. Now, the second one, you're riding your scooter through the city and you've mounted a small uh uh sat nav and you follow your instructions uh of where to go. And then the third one is uh you're on the road, you're driving your car and you're watching uh your navigation, there's uh in multiple interfaces in your car, uh one screen behind the steering wheel of a center stack in the middle and maybe you have a head of display all helping you to uh to find your way and to support you in your driving task.

Now, you can see those three users again. And I would like to ask you to take a moment for yourself and to think about what these users have in common, how do they control their interfaces? And maybe you can mention uh something in the chat. So we have some interactions, what do these people have in common and the way they interact with their devices. Um So these are all projects I've worked on and I've studied the user in quite a lot of detail. And there's three things I uh saw that these people have in common, the user is going somewhere. So they have, haven't got a lot of time to spend on their devices. So they look with half an eye, they only look quickly briefly and with not a lot of concentration. Uh Also they only have one hand to control the user interface. So they either have their hand on the steering wheel or on their scooter or they're just running and they don't have their hands free to do things. And the third one is there's no focused attention. If they need information from their device, it needs to be quickly and very, very clear because there's no focused intention.

Um So these, these were all uh projects um I was working for uh on in my previous job uh as designer at Tom Tom, that's the company known for uh uh navigation devices. And in the meantime, they start making devices or uh navigation integrated in cars. Um So I studied these users in quite a lot of detail and I saw an opportunity for a completely different products, but it's also a product that is used by people, women on the move, women that are going somewhere. So this product is a handbag. And the funny thing is that the handbag was designed centuries ago uh already in the 13th century, they uh found the first handbags. And if you think about it since then, nothing much has changed. There are of course many different types of bags, but the essence is still the same. It's a bag with two handles and it was designed in a different era. It was designed uh in an era where women were living a different type of life and women have changed. Um If you compare 1920 21 we have a way more active role in society and we also move in different ways through our environment where yeah, and using way different ways of transport and we our bed needs to be flexible. And if you look at the the current user experience, then I thought it was interesting to uh look at what Jane Birkin had to say about the Birkin bag.

The Birkin bag for people that are maybe not so interested in bags is I think this the most famous bag and it was designed for Jane Birkin, that's why it's called the Birkin Bag. It's from her math, uh, but she says it busts your arm and they're bloody heavy. So that doesn't sound like the best user experience room for improvement. And what you also see is that, uh, women put different things inside their handbag. Um, most women keep their phone inside their handbag and also other essentials like your keys and your wallet. Um, and it turns out that also women have many of the same item inside their handbag. For example, uh, they've, I've read research that, uh, people, women empty their bag and they find six lipsticks they didn't even know about, uh, and all those things have to come out as well. Uh, and there's other interesting, uh, research I, uh, read that, uh, women spend on average 75 days of their lives searching for something inside their handbag. And of course, my background is a designer and I found it very intriguing and definitely an interesting topic to, uh, to investigate more. So what I did, um, is going out, just going out on the street. And I had a, a small trick question.

I asked the women if I could borrow a pen. Um, so then most women for, uh, they're very friendly and started looking inside their handbag for a pen because most of us we have a pen. But where is it? So they dove into their handbag trying to find a pen for me and it was a very nice way of investigating because also, um, I could ask them some questions or we could confirm to each other that it's very difficult to find things inside your handbag. But I could also see the way they move or the tricks people use to still find stuff inside a handbag. And I, um, actually I, um, I made, uh, I, I took some conclusions, of course, first, um, finding stuff is difficult. That was clear. Uh Some people managed to find a pen, others didn't, but it took them a while. It was not a nice experience. So finding stuff is difficult. Why is it so difficult? Well, first of all, the content is not very well visible. So, um, yeah, it's just trying to find something in the dark. And then second, it's also not easy to open your bag while you're carrying it. So the traditional bag with uh uh um uh the traditional bag is quite difficult to get into. So to, to get into your handbag, either you have to move sort of acrobatic, move to go inside your handbag or you have to take it first, take it off and then find the things inside your handbag. So that was not also not a great design.

And then last, there's just too much stuff that we have inside our handbags and it will probably stay that way. But what is unchanged since all these times is that a handbag is, is more than just a AAA very practical functional product. It's also something that yeah, that is showing uh who you are. It's uh showing it once I ideally a handbag makes you feel more elegant. It add elegance to your outfit and the right handbag makes you feel more confident. And here you can see Audrey Hepburn versus Taylor Swift. So my ambition was to bring the handbag experience to the 21st century and make it more suitable for the modern day uh demands of a handbag. And I started designing, I started not designing the that but the user experience. Um So how, how do you ideally wear a bag? How do you ideally open it? Uh And if you take things out, what is the best way to do that, what shape fits the human body? So I started sketching and I made many, many prototypes. Uh I think I, I made at least 100 prototypes and they were not all complete bags, but they were paper, paper, little prototypes.

They were uh small principles to test something, but all the prototypes were meant for testing something trying out and then throwing it away and go to the next version. And what you can also see here is this that I saw an opportunity for technology uh in a way the handbag is a is the perfect wearable. You always carry it with you. And also your most essential items are inside your handbag. And while designing, I had in mind the restrictions of a user that is on the move. So what I told you before, they only have half an eye content needs to be very clear. They only have one hand available because they're probably doing something else and there's no focus attention. You shouldn't require the user to be very organized to uh in uh in a way that they can find back their things. It's just something that you do while you're focusing on other things. So after these hundreds of prototypes, I came to a design that I felt comfortable about, that was, was also tested by people and I thought I should pursue it. So after this, um I went to different places in Europe to find a manufacturer. And uh well, I already had a quite specific idea of the design, which was from my ex experience as a product designer, not necessarily a bag or a fashion designer.

So I had some things that were very difficult to make. Um also using modern technologies like 3D printing and laser cutting. Uh So I went to different places in Europe because I wanted to uh a company that is close to where I live in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. So we could actually meet frequently and it was easier to work together. And of course, I tried in different places, but the only uh um company that could really uh make the result, I was looking for was in Italy is actually in S Conic Italy, which is also where a famous brands like Prada produce their handbags. And this is uh yeah, here you can see um they're working on handbags and then the design initially, I felt into the trap of uh making things too complicated. I think as a designer, you probably recognize that initially, you want to meet all your requirements and you make things too complicated. But soon I concluded that to make things better, I actually had to remove things less is more. So instead of two handles, I concluded uh that only one handle is actually better for the user experience. And it's one handle that can be adjusted in size. One that handle makes it easier to open the bag while you're carrying it.

So you don't have to take a one handle and then go in your handbag, but just you can just open it. So here you can see the design of the very first. Meanwhile, handbag. Um so this was produced by the manufacturer in Italy and it's uh it's in leather, it's a vegetable 10 leather. So I think as a modern company uh in uh 2021 you should be aware of your impact on the environment. So we use vegetable tent leather that has a minimal impact on the environment. It's tent, that's a very um can be a very dirty process with lots of chemicals. But the vegetable tent leather uses natural materials and has a very low impact on the environment. Here. You can see the back, so the strap is adjustable, you can make it adjust it to your body length and also to you the way you like to carry a bag. So either short or cross body. And on here, you can see a picture of how it works in practice. So the single handle ha allows you to open the bag while you're carrying it and to look inside. And then what really makes it stand out from uh existing bags is that there is a subtle light inside the handbag. The light turns on when you open the bag and it softly fades out when you close it.

So it's it's something that is uh both functional but also gives the gives it a pleasant user experience where you can see another picture. So not only does it allow you to find things inside your handbag quickly, it also gives the pleasant user experience and this product is like the Marie Kondo motto. This bag literally sparks joy and then it also can charge your phone or tablets. There's a USB port at the top of the bag where you can plug in your phone and you can still use it while you're charging your bag, uh sorry, charging your phone. And I believe that technology should never make things more complicated. And this is why the bag itself is charged wirelessly. So you don't need to fit it with cables, you're not used to charging the battery of your bag. So it should be very, very easy to do this. Uh And with this wireless charger, you can just drop it on a wireless charger and it's uh and it's charging, you can see the little lights at the front. So this was actually the start of meanwhile. And in the meantime, we've developed a collection of bags and they all have love for technology. They have this uh all have the same technology inside with the lights, the charging and wireless charging. Uh Here, you can see the three models uh and a little bit more detail.

This, so this is the FAA, this is a very natural leather that's not painted. So this is the natural color of the leather. And it's also uh yeah, it's a color that's uh it's something that you love or you love it or you hate it, but it's a very beautiful color and it slowly grows a little bit darker over time. And then um after designing the first bag, many women asked us for a bag that could also could fit their laptop so they could use it for work. And then we designed the tote as the second model again with the same technology inside and it fits uh most laptops. And then last, we have our smallest model. It's actually uh named after my grandmother who taught me how to uh, Sue, uh, and it's called the C she, she was called Ce. And, um, yeah, it's the, it's the smallest model that fits all your essentials. And you can see the here in another color, you can also see the, that the, the light is very subtle. It helps you to find your things, but it's, uh, it's not something that grabs other people's attention, it's very subtle.

And after we, um, introduce our bags, uh, it was very nice to see that, uh, it was picked up in the news. So here you can see a few articles written about us. And yeah, what is very nice is that we are a team of women uh designing or for women and it's really something that people also are enthusiastic about. It. It's, uh, that it shows that also women like well gadgets, beautiful gadgets, I think. Uh, but, and I also take part in, in innovation and technology often people that think that, uh, technology and sort of gadgets are only for men. Uh And, um, yeah, I think the reason why it was picked up in the news is that people really like, uh to see that also women can be involved in technology and can have great innovations that, uh yeah, before we're in, think, thought about another great uh results uh from being out there is that we also got the attention from other companies and we now have a very nice, um, partnership with uh Logitech which is uh still in a very early process.

But uh yeah, I can, I can mention it here. Um They also believe that um yeah, the the technical accessories to work from anywhere your uh mouse or keyboard that they shouldn't necessarily be uh dark colors and uh focused on. Uh yeah, maybe more traditional tech audience. Uh and they also have um manufacturers manufacture a collection that is bright colors, fits more in the style. Uh And it actually fits, fits perfectly with our handbags. Here, you can see a mouse and a keyboard of Logitech inside uh the tote our tote. And um yeah, I'm really, really proud also that we have very uh nice women, very uh great women as our customers. So here you can see a few of our customers and what they have in common is maybe it's a coincidence or not, it's not uh not for everyone, but they are very, very powerful women that are also working with the technology. Actually, the second lady is Kin Fo and she's the uh one of the founders of Tom Tom. And she's a really great example to me. I feel really honored that she's also a yeah, very energetic uh Minoa customer. So I would like to um go to the conclusions and I think I need to do that quickly. Uh The lessons I learned um during this uh design process.

First of all, observe your users in the wild uh And when your user is on the move, you have to move as well. So my important tool was my bike. And I also had the gopro to uh film people if necessary. Of course, you need to ask permission if you film people. But it was a very great tool to uh to observe people and to really understand the pro the problem seconds, prototype, prototype with physical objects. Uh Nowadays, we have Arduino as a perfect prototyping tool and you can make a lot of things yourself. And if you can't make it yourself, you can definitely find people that can help you make it. And then third, this is something uh in general I believe in is designed beyond the screen. We always think about apps and uh smartphone apps or websites or something that happens on your phone. And we've so we are becoming smartphone zombies only focusing our attention on our phones.

So I really would like to encourage everyone to think about solutions that don't require you to look at your smartphone. And then fourth become an entrepreneur. This is what I did and it's a, it's a challenge from, from a designer to an entrepreneur. Uh But I think uh there's uh uh some valuable lessons that I learned I would like to share. First of all use your common sense. Um There are a lot of hipsters start up meetups. Um um uh a lot of uh uh there's a big industry around start ups and there are a lot of coaches and everything and sometimes feel like there are more start up coaches than there are actual start ups and everyone is telling you what to do and what not to do. And I think I did use my common sense and just, yeah, thought about it and took logical uh decisions and there's no brilliant things I did for this. I just did a lot of work and yeah, used my common sense. Um and the second point is build a team as a designer. I, I could do a lot of things myself. Uh I'm, I can make a lot of things myself. I'm not an expert but I could. Uh and I had uh the tendency to do everything myself. And nowadays I have a team. I have very good relationship with our manufacturer in Italy, with our suppliers, even with journalists and experts. And they are, they turned out very valuable. It's really important for a company.

And then last, and that's something that my coach actually very useful advice that he gave me is enjoy. Sometimes you're so fed up with everything that can go wrong and you're so stressed and it's also a really great ride. So if you do something like this, don't forget to enjoy it. And that's my presentation. Thank you very much.