Convertible Sleeping Bag
A sleeping bag designed for the homeless.
Anyone can use it as a sleeping bag or a jacket.
Why the homeless?
Homeless people are uncomfortable living on the streets. Reasons can vary between the struggles of dragging their belongings around with them, finding a place to rest, shelter from the harsh weather, begging for money, being treated like an eye sore, looking for a place to relieve themselves without getting arrested for public indecency, staying clean, finding a job, protecting themselves from any form of assault, and theft. Despite there being many forms of program sot help out the homelss, many are not aware of them because they have no access to these information. Some of them are motivated to get off the streets, others do not want to fix their situation.
My target audience are those who are willing to do whatever it takes to get back on their feet.
Mind Map
In order to figure out what the homeless really needed and wanted, I wrote down ideas and organized them into a mind map. The categories I played with are safety, shelter, hygiene, and weather. Out of the 4 categories, I choose weather.
In June 2016, San Jose kicked out many homeless people living in a homeless camp called "the jungle." This resulted in a large number of homeless people roaming around San Jose without a place to stay. Because many of them have nowhere to hide anymore, the general public noticed a sudden rise in homeless people wandering in their community. Without warning, the homeless had their shelter and sense of security taken away in a matter of days.
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Shelter
Field Testing
I took my prototypes to the local homeless and asked them for their opinion and how to improve my design to suit their needs. I learned that it's hard for them to secure their belongings while sleeping. Shoes were the most common things that were stolen. At this point I decided to add a pocket for their feet to store their valuables and shoes. The reason why I placed it at their feet is because in order to get to it, people would have to unzip the entire sleeping bag and risk waking the sleeping person.
Final Model
Roll/fold up the top flap to transform it into a pillow.
Inner pocket for your feet and a place to store your belongings.
Drape the top flap over your shoulders to act as sleeves.
