Web Directions North 2008

One of my personal goals for WDN 2008 was to come up with a slightly more interesting conference bag. In the past we’ve gone with the expected (and over-used) laptop bags… except we’re pretty sure that by now everyone who needs one already has their own. And if you go to multiple conferences, you’ve probably got a lot more than just one gathering dust in a closet somewhere, if you still have them.

We started thinking of ways to cut down on the waste, while creating something unique. Ultimately we hoped to come up with a bag you would want to take home and continue using afterwards. The trendhunters and Al Gore devotees amongst you already know that reusable shopping bags are enjoying a renaissance these days, and once we started thinking along those lines we found our bag fairly quickly.

Baggu makes reusable bags that come with their own storage pouch. They’re strong nylon bags that fold up into a 5″ x 5″ square for easy storage when not in use. They’re simple, but stylish. I own a few myself already, and I love ‘em for their ease of carrying and conscience-cleansing benefits.

But we thought we’d go a little further. Ultimately, we didn’t want just another bag, we wanted to create an item that people will love. So we brought in some help.

You’ve seen Happy Webbies, no doubt. When the site crossed my radar a while back, I knew I’d found the right blend of irreverent humour and illustration skills to help us out. We worked through various ideas with nGen Works, the crew behind Happy Webbies and came up with a winner (though I hope they make good on their threat to publish some of the other concepts, we had to make some tough choices).

The final art is a clever blend of web and tech-related imagery that evokes the native Haida art indigenous to the west coast of Canada. You can get an idea of what the bag + art combo will look like in the image above. Everyone attending WDN08 will receive one (and we may even have a few extras on hand if you’d like to bring more than one home), and we’ve opened a CafePress shop with a few other items featuring the art for anyone who isn’t.

Posted by Dave on 14/01/08 at 4:29 pm