Posts Tagged ‘trek support’

  • Fri, Dec 9 2011

    We have now opened the redesign phase for Trek Support. As referenced in this blog post, we are redesigning the Trek Support due to demand from a key retailer for its main features. For reference, the problem and design brief are below. Let’s see what you guys come up with!

    Problem:

    Ever been on vacation, a business trip, or any type of travel and experienced the frustration of organizing multiple adapters and tangled cables for your devices? Many of us are traveling with a variety of devices these days, and it can really be a pain to keep mobile devices charged and organized. Often times you arrive at your hotel room or destination and have to find multiple outlets just to conveniently charge all your things. Charging ports are becoming more common on flights, but juggling devices in tight spaces can be a flight of fancy. When an outlet is not at hand, you’re not doing any charging.

    Phase Design Brief:

    Let’s work together to come up with a portable charging station that:
    • Makes it easy to organize and transport your cables and portable devices in one handy product
    • Works with a variety of USB-compatible mobile devices (phones, cameras, tablets that charge via USB)
    • Fits iPads, iPhones, iPods (all iOS devices), and other devices such as Blackberry, point-and-shoot digicams, other tablets
    • Has an integrated rechargeable battery for charging when not near an outlet
    • Is convenient to transport: easy to slip into a bag or luggage; easy to hand-carry or carry on body
    • Has an ‘upscale’ aesthetic and suitable materials to protect devices and stand up to the rigors of modern travel
    • Is TSA-compliant

  • Wed, Nov 23 2011

    Requests from retail partners for certain products are a recurring opportunity for Quirky and the Quirky community. Our retail partners regularly share with us their latest insights into products and categories that are about to trend. Often these insights develop into design briefs to help develop the next big thing. When a key retail partner came to us to develop the next ‘portable charging station’, we made immediate moves towards starting community development on the product.

    In this case, we quickly came to the realization after launching the design brief blog post, that what we were asked to create very closely reflects William Fine’s original submission for Trek Support. When comparing the key features in isolation, they are, for all intents and purposes, the same product. The difference is in the superficial ‘soft good’ manifestation (backpack versus something more ‘convenient to transport’). Upon reflection, this small difference did not feel like it warranted a completely new product, and that a great deal of the art required for execution of the portable charging station already existed in the development of Trek Support.

    The next step was to decide what was the right move for the product, inventor and community. After reaching out to William and weighing up several options, we are moving ahead with the decision to treat this brief as an opportunity to re-imagine the key features of Trek Support. We will therefore be opening up a new ‘redesign phase’ within the Trek Support project, piggy-backing off the hard work already done by the community and QDS, and honoring the associated influence.

    At the launch of this redesign phase, we will confirm how much influence there is up for grabs.

  • Fri, Sep 17 2010

    Your search for the ultimate travel backpack is over. Trek Support is now available in the Quirky store for a pre-sale price of $130 (retail: $150) at a threshold of 1200 units. 25 percent influence is up for grabs in pre-sales, and social sales will bag you a cool $13 per unit. There’s no reason NOT to promote the heck out of this thing!

    Traveling techies, rejoice! Trek Support is a checkpoint-friendly backpack that powers and protects your laptop and gadgets when you’re on the go.

    This stylish case features a removable battery-powered USB gadget dock, which can charge up to three electronic items at a time. It also has a detachable laptop sleeve at the rear, designed specifically for travelers. TSA allows laptops to remain in bags through security screening as long as the bag provides a clear and unobstructed X-ray view of the laptop. Just unzip Trek Support, lay it flat, and place it on the conveyor belt instead of going through the hassle of removing your laptop. Airport security’s never been speedier!

    Trek Support comes with 3 components: the backpack, the laptop sleeve, and the gadget dock.

    Checkpoint-Friendly Backpack

    - Large main compartment, with a wrap-around clamshell opening.

    - Outer zippered pocket for essentials like wallets and passports.

    - Secondary zippered compartment, with a bungee strap and inner pockets for organizing your essentials.

    - Two small mesh pockets on the straps, perfectly sized for your phone/MP3 player and ear bud headphones. One pocket has an additional USB outlet, with a wire threaded through the strap to connect to the gadget dock.

    - Made of durable waterproof rip-stop nylon, with rubber-coated zippers and open-air mesh padding on the back and straps for comfort and support.

    Laptop Sleeve

    - Fits most laptops with up to 15” screens.

    - Easy Velcro attachment to the inside rear of the backpack’s main compartment.

    - Made of padded nylon and Velcro.

    Gadget Dock

    - Integrated battery can charge up to three USB gadgets at once.

    - Includes 4 pockets that fit iPads/eReaders, phones, MP3 players, portable gaming systems, cameras, and other gadgets.

    - Rechargeable battery lasts up to 7 hours, depending on the devices being charged.

    - Made of padded nylon, with air mesh on the bottom so the battery can breathe.

    Trek Support is available in charcoal, with bright blue accents and reflective hits on the logo and bungee cord.

  • Fri, Aug 27 2010

    It’s time again for a lil’ inspiration, this time for the logo design project for Trek Support.

    This project is all about integrating electronics into something wearable. The images shown focus on mixing hard and soft material, displaying technology in an exciting way, and color pops that bring your attention to the right details.


    Good luck!