Industrial Design · Social Impact
Homeless Survival Bags
Convertible survival bags that transform into waterproof boot covers — designed for people experiencing homelessness to protect against cold, wet conditions and reduce the risk of preventable illness.
The Challenge
People experiencing homelessness carry everything they own, often on foot through cold, wet weather. Wet feet put them at risk of preventable illness, yet the bags available to them only solved storage. The challenge: design one product that carries a person's belongings and also keeps their feet dry.
Research & Co-design
Worked directly with people experiencing homelessness to understand their daily realities — what they carry, how they move, how they stay safe, and where existing bags failed them. This was foundational: the people using these bags were design partners, not just subjects.
Design & Iteration
Designed and prototyped multiple configurations of a bag that converts into waterproof boot covers, testing the conversion itself alongside weather resistance, storage and durability through continuous feedback loops with users.
Outcome
A survival bag that carries a person's belongings and converts into waterproof boot covers in cold, wet conditions — designed with and for the people who needed it most. To help fund it, I co-founded Anymile Clothing, an apparel brand that ran for eight years.
See Anymile Clothing
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