Peak Design continues its crowd-funding success on Kickstarter with the Everyday Backpack. As of writing, the campaign surpassed $3 million with 21 days remaining.

Good Design?

This must be the most over-engineered backpack. The myriad of features are useful. But not all at once, and not without limitations. Having more features means more ways to fail.

At the heart of good design is simplicity. According to Dieter Rams, good design is as little design as possible.

Leaving out the non-essentials and strengthening the core features is not merely for the aesthetic quality. Abraham Wald increased the survivability of World War II aircraft by diverting efforts away from reinforcing the most damaged areas to the unscathed areas. These unscathed areas are the core features that kept the aircraft flying.

An Alternative Approach

Billingham understands that longevity is determined by the weakest link - the protective interior. Protective materials degrades and lose their elastic property over time. Its replaceable protective insert ensures the product is a lifelong investment, and not just the latest disruptive gadget.

Furthermore, Peak Design's worst-case-scenario approach is excessive and wasteful. Even Micro Four Thirds camera users or prime lens users will find the Everyday Backpack to be an overkill. For the average consumer, protecting the camera in a camera pouch and using their existing backpack is a more sensible solution.

The Sales Pitch is Brilliant