Two totes, one minimal & one utilitarian, recontextualized as “shells” to its contents


For this collection of totes, we were set on developing these bags as mere “shells” that encase our belongings with minimal padding and structure. This way of thinking of bags was highly unusual for DSPTCH since the brand is known for their highly utilitarian and structured bags.

The totes were designed around the Tote Insert, which is a DSPTCH pack organizer that enables you to store a laptop upright in either landscape or portrait orientation. The Tote Insert also acts as a structural support to the bag, and with the weight of the laptop makes it stand and balance upright. We believed that with the use of the Tote Inserts, the full potential of Totes can be achieve.

“Unit” was designated to the more bare-bones, stream-lined version of the tote.

“Utility” was designated to the version with webbing mounting points (for accessories and pouches), which became an important design language for future bag designs.