Platinum Fashion and Travel Accessories Design · 2020
Qwerty Elemental Handbags
- A' Design Award 2020 Platinum Winner in Fashion and Travel Accessories Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Donà
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 1,967,281
- Verification code 9C952A4579 · Verify this award
About Qwerty Elemental Handbags
Just like typewriters’ design evolution shows the transformation from a highly complex visual form to the clean-lined, simple geometric form, Qwerty-elemental is the embodiment of strength, symmetry, and simplicity. Constructive steel parts made by various craftsmen are distinctive visual feature of the product, which gives the bag an architectonic appearance. The essential peculiarity of the bag are two typewriter’s keys which are self manufactured and assembled by the designer herself.
Positioned within the contemporary discourse surrounding the elevation of functional accessories to the realm of sculptural objects, this work by Patrizia Donà demonstrates a thoughtful synthesis of industrial precision and artisanal leather craft traditions that speaks to broader movements in design philosophy where utilitarian objects transcend their practical origins to become statements of aesthetic intent and material intelligence, the compositional achievement here lies in the harmonious resolution of seemingly opposing forces including the organic suppleness of leather against the rigid geometry of metal framing, the warmth-absorbing qualities of deep black against the cool reflectivity of brushed silver, and the tension between traditional handbag archetypes and contemporary minimalist reduction, the designer appears to engage with questions of how everyday objects might embody conceptual depth without sacrificing functional integrity, suggested by the subtle keyboard-referencing elements that hint at broader meditations on communication, technology, and the objects that mediate our daily interactions, the technical merit evident in the precise leather paneling, immaculate edge finishing, and considered hardware placement speaks to manufacturing excellence that honors craft traditions while embracing contemporary production capabilities, chromatically the work operates within a restrained palette that achieves maximum impact through material contrast rather than color variety, allowing surface qualities and formal relationships to carry expressive weight, the extended shoulder strap creating an elegant elliptical frame below the bag introduces a poetic element that transforms functional necessity into compositional asset, suggesting the designer's attention to how objects appear both in use and in repose, thematically the work seems to explore intersections between digital and analog worlds, between the keyboard that names the collection and the enduring traditions of leather craft, perhaps inviting viewers to consider how objects might bridge temporal and technological divides while maintaining aesthetic integrity and material honesty, one might contemplate how this synthesis of references creates an object that feels simultaneously familiar and novel
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Just like typewriters’ design evolution shows the transformation from a highly complex visual form to the clean-lined, simple geometric form, Qwerty-elemental is the embodiment of strength, symmetry, and simplicity. Constructive steel parts made by various craftsmen are distinctive visual feature of the product, which gives the bag an architectonic appearance.The highlight of "Qwerty" collection were the typewriter keys, firstly re-applied from the original Remington typewriters, and later, according to Donà's design, constructed and manufactured by a metal craftsmen company. Since 2013 Donà has her own production of typewriter keys.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 1. qwerty large:28x31x10,5 cm
2. qwerty medium:26x24x10,5 cm
3. qwerty small: 25x13x3 cm - Tags
- Typewriter bags, Qwerty bag
- Production Technology
- For the realization of this collection Donà collaborated with different manufactures with one aim: to improve each detail to the level of excellence and to combine craft and industrial methods of production. The typewriter keys are made from brass metal sheet. We made special tools for the typewriter keys production. Using these tools a brass sheet is going through a several stages: cutting, curvature, perforation. Next step is galvanization (electroplating) and finally assembling the chrome ring with laser cut disk with engraved sign (letter, number…). Hardware are cut and highly polished from stainless steel by metal craftsman. For the leatherwork Donà found skilled craftsman who use time-honored tanning and finishing techniques (hand-finished edges). The product shows old tried and tested techniques and materials, but a modern and up-to-date design approach.
- Design Challenge
- making a tool for typewriter keys, it took ca six months to develop a "machine" for typewriter keys production
- Project Duration
- 2018-2020, Zagreb-Venezia-Vicenza
- Operation Flow
- Qwerty Elemental line features perfect everyday city pieces suitable for the daylong activities and the evening occasion.
- Research
- The most time is dedicated to the details of the bags:typewriter keys, laser cut hardware that are made from stainless steel
- Inspiration
- The durability is femininity of QWERTY design built in the Donà's collection of the same name. It evolved from Donà's fascination with the highly aesthetical and complex mechanical object - the Remington typewriter. It is one of the earliest brands of typewriters, dating from 1874.
The name of the collection “Qwerty” refers to the oldest typing template that was invented by a newspaper editor Christopher Sholes in 1868 and sold to Remington in 1873. Unchanged for 150 years, it was designed to prevent the metal arms of the typewriter letters from clashing and jamming. So what Sholes basically did was to place the most frequently used letters as far apart as possible, making the typist's fingers (at that time, which was the practice that persisted throughout the next century, all typists were women) do the work. In a 1888 Manual of the Typewriter, John Harrison explained, "The typewriter is especially adapted to feminine fingers. They seem to be made for typewriting. The typewriting involves no hard labor and no more skill than playing the piano." - Image Credits
- Image #1:Photographer Vanja Solin, 2019
Image #2:Photographer Vanja Solin, 2019
Image #3:Photographer Vanja Solin, 2019
Image #4:Photographer Vanja Solin, 2019
Image #5:Photographer Vanja Solin, 2019