Re-Design vs Design Perfection: Shreena Patel, Senior Interior Design at SpaceInvader
Welcome to Re-Design vs Design Perfection, a playful new Design Insider series leading creatives to choose one object they’d happily reimagine and another they consider flawlessly designed. Shreena Patel, Senior Interior Designer, SpaceInvader reflects on the surprisingly flawed umbrella and the quietly brilliant Bergen Pro Backpack by Kapten & Son, revealing a design perspective shaped by practicality and longevity.
Re-design
The Umbrella
How many times have you seen an abandoned umbrella in the street, its spokes broken and flapping in the wind like an injured bird? Shops and cafes, pubs and clubs must collect broken brollies by the dozen, abandoned in doorways on arrival and not picked up again on departure.
Collapsible umbrellas may work reasonably well in the rain, but as soon as you add in any degree of wind or bluster, they’re really not fit for purpose, revealing their fragility either by turning inside out or through the delicate spokes inverting and the overall form collapsing.
I’ve gone through loads. I suspect most people have, making them a particularly environmentally-unfriendly and unrobust product. Of course, there are larger, sturdier and better made alternatives around of the ‘non-telescope’ variety, but they lack the practicality of the compact umbrella. They may be perfect for doormen protecting hotel guests en route to a taxi door, but they’re not an everyday item.
I’d happily pay more for a better product, but one which combines the reliability of the larger golfing umbrella model with the compact form of the everyday ‘telescope’ type – but they need to deliver more first and solve the design issue of dealing with both rain and wind with a much more robust mechanism.
Design Perfection
The Kapten & Son Bergen Pro Backpack
When I was looking for a work bag a couple of years bag, I wanted to upgrade from endless tote bags to something that would provide all the functions I needed, as well as looking aesthetically sleek and being comfortable to use day in, day out. I had a good look round before settling on a Bergen Pro Backpack in Sandstone from German company Kapten & Son.
It looked good in theory, as well as being smart enough to take to external meetings, and I was also impressed with the bag’s sustainable credentials, featuring 76% recycled PET. Its functions include a laptop compartment, an anti-theft compartment, a suitcase holder and a flexible bottle holder for my water bottle.
Experience has proven that the backpack is roomy, comfortable, ergonomic, durable and just so incredibly well-considered overall. It wasn’t cheap, but it has more than proved its worth. Another time? I’d probably have gone for the black. The colour is still looking pretty good, but black is just that bit more forgiving!
Shreena Patel, Senior Interior Design at SpaceInvader
Shreena Patel is a Senior Interior Designer at SpaceInvader, having joined the studio in 2019 after graduating from Leeds Beckett University with a first-class degree in Interior Architecture and Design. She has since applied her talents to many projects across different sectors. Her creative design and technical ability were obvious from the start and she has been able to manage projects and clients from early on in her career. Shreena is increasingly a specialist in hospitality interiors, working on large-scale hotel projects in London and Manchester for brands such as Hilton and Radisson.