At this stage in my career, I am a seasoned backpack designer for Eastsport, having participated in multiple Back-to-School cycles. Working with the same clients year after year has given me a strong understanding of their preferences, allowing me to identify key trends, features, and market insights early in the design process.

This season, I presented an extensive trend forecast to Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas, highlighting materials, prints, colors, trims, and hardware. Over the years, I have layered more market research into these presentations, finding it the most effective way to support design recommendations.

The six-month project followed the usual development stages but came with unique challenges. Trends shifted more rapidly this year, creating a tighter timeline for keeping designs current. I co-designed the collection with Design Director Matthew Teutonico and Designer Louis Ngiem. Having worked together previously, our team was more efficient and collaborative than ever.

My responsibilities spanned the full development cycle: CAD design, sample requests, pricing and presentation materials, color and print options, and planogram preparation. This season, we focused on refreshing our designs, sourcing new fabric swatches to inject a sense of newness and fresher perspective to the collection.

I designed across all core backpack categories: clear, mesh, basic, sport, lifestyle (higher price point), and expandable (highest price point). New challenges included breaking into a backpack with lunch combo category, and reducing production costs further while maintaining perceived value. I also helped elevate our clear and mesh program and I was excited to introduce upgraded features and embellishments to support a higher price point.

Bags are available online and in stores. This collection continues to secure Eastsport’s brand as the #1 backpack brand nationwide, surpassing the ranks of Nike, Jansport, Adidas and the North Face.