Rough Cut - Part 2

Yesterday I discussed a few of the items I saw at MOMA during my visit on Wednesday that met my criteria for a GreenZoneSolution. There were others that came close but missed the mark by a bit. If the designers chose to do so, these products could easily be tweaked to fit in here nicely though.

First of all, any item that has found its way into one of the exhibits in the Architecture and Design Gallery qualifies as having good design built into it. MOMA has been in the business of recognizing, collecting and displaying good design since 1928 - it's what they do.

As a paramedic for about 16 years now, I've made a living working out of duffel bags. When I saw the bag manufactured by Freitag at MOMA, the first thing I thought of was "That could make an excellent jump kit". The bags are made of recycled truck tarpaulins, seat belts, inner tubes and air bags, so they are durable and waterproof, and with heavy duty zippers and handles, they would make excellent accessories for public safety professionals or anyone who wanted the features and quality of that kind of product. The bag displays parts of logos stencilled boldly upon it, a style element that certainly makes the Freitag stand out in terms of fashion and instantly recognizable, but one that might have to be somehow concealed or disguised if they were to transition to a more professional capacity.

On their website, Freitag does offer an online service it calls F-Cut (check out the very cool flash demo and graphic user interface) which seems really promising where people can use tools on the site to design personalized bags:

Use our F-Cut tool to design your individual FREITAG messenger bag online. Right here, right now. We place our fine truck tarpaulins at your creative disposal online. Using your mouse, drag the template on to the tarpaulins and select and match up the individual cuttings for your very own FREITAG bag. But remember: the design of your messenger bag really is in your hands. You determine whether your FREITAG bag turns out chic or pear-shaped.

An option on the site gives designers the ability to select tarps that are clean of pre-existing text or other markings too - perfect for professional applications.When the design is compete, a price and date of construction are provided - very neat. Could this be the missing link to a GreenZoneSolution for Freitag?

Renewable - yes. Remarkable - certainly. And with a little redesign with a mindset toward safety and security applications - could easily be as Reliable as any of the other bags out there now.

I've got one or two more examples from my field trip to NYC that I'd like to share with you tomorrow.