We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer about their original and creative design work. is an award-winning creative designer, that makes our world a better place with their original works.
("") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work . Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
: In 2012, I realised that the conventional backpack design was causing extra stress and worry when you travel through a busy city, as so many people do. The problem? The person behind you can get into your backpack more easily than you can. So I decided to turn the backpack round exactly the opposite way. In March 2014 I left my job with my sketches to I remove all the zips off the outside of backpacks and put them against your back. I call this the RiutBag
: I'm a life-long backpack user and commuter. That's my only qualification I have never studied design. In 2012, I realised that the conventional backpack design was causing extra stress and worry when you travel through a busy city, as so many people do. The problem? The person behind you can get into your backpack more easily than you can. So I decided to turn the backpack round exactly the opposite way. In March 2014 I left my job with my sketches to I remove all the zips off the outside of backpacks and put them against your back. I call this the RiutBag: the secure, backwards backpack. It's designed for all real commuters and city travellers who want piece of mind wherever they are. I made the RiutBag with the help of over 2,500 city travellers. How? On crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Thanks to them I now have a living breathing startup and there are RiutBag users in cities all over the world. I now run a one-person startup shipping RiutBags globally every day from www.riut.co.uk. It's tough, but it's worth it to know that RiutBag users feel more secure, confident and calm every day.
: My quest is this: To turn the world's backpacks around, so we all travel with calm and confidence. I believe if we all feel secure when we travel, the world will be a better place for us and those around us. Lower stress, less suspicion, less hostility and more adaption to our new urban world. Riut, the name of my one-person startup, stands for Revolution in user thinking. I'm going to keep asking RiutBag users and travellers to take my surveys so I can keep upgrading the RiutBag to solve the travel problems of today and tomorrow.
: Within 12 months of leaving my job to make the RiutBag a reality, I prototyped, crowd funded and made my first production run. Within a year of me starting, I had RiutBag users all over the world.
: I'm a life-long backpack user and commuter. That's my only qualification I have never studied design. In 2012, I realised that the conventional backpack design was causing extra stress and worry when you travel through a busy city, as so many people do.
: I make the RiutBag for women and men who travel with tech and other valuables every day. Whether you're a commuter getting on a train, an office worker getting on a bike or a freelancer heading off on a budget airline, I've made the RiutBag to solve the problems of city travel. The usual RiutBag user is 25-25 years old and they live in the world's biggest, busiest cities.
: The RiutBag is exactly the opposite of all other backpacks. That means, all the openings are hidden against your back allowing you to feel calm, safe and secure.
: Riut, the name of my one-person startup, stands for Revolution in user thinking. This describes the RiutBag, revolved my 180 degrees to put all the openings against your back. But it also describes the way I created this one-person startup and how I will run it in the future. I revolve all my thinking around my users. I try not only to impact their use, but their thinking. Can I make them feel calmer, less stressed, more confident with my design? Finally, I encourage other other users to go and make their ideas happen. I'm going to keep asking RiutBag users and travellers to take my surveys so I can keep upgrading the RiutBag to solve the travel problems of today and tomorrow.
: I used free online survey tools and found city travellers on social media to take my surveys. Their views powered the all the RiutBag designs to date, and they will continue to in the future.
: I'm speaking at TEDx Brighton 2016. My talk is called: How to innovate without being a programmer I sell RiutBags exclusively at www.riut.co.uk shipping globally every day Anyone interested can visit Riut's Facebook page www.facebook.com/riutbag or Twitter, Instagram and Google+
