Designing a Book: "Design in Nature" Chosen Theme

DESIGN IN NATURE

DESIGN IN NATURE V V ~ A D ~ K H ~ P D

FBI

DESIGN IN NATURE VERONICA VILLHARD ASHTON DEWEY KATIE HOLMES PARKER DOOLE

CONTENTS

DESIGN IN NATURE

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001

LANGE

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PARKHARRISON

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PFOTENHAUER

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LAK

Mike Pfotenhauer

From the light day hiker’s backpack, to the high-mountain alpinist’s pack, to the adventurous parent’s child carrier, Osprey’s designers are masters of the craft of carrying. It all officially began in 1974 when Mike Pfotenhauer, chief designer, founded the company.

A born and raised Oregonian, Pfotenhauer was raised to appreciate and explore the wilderness, but he took his passion for adventure to the next level when he decided to take up sewing and designed/created a pack of his own at the age of sixteen. After graduating from the University of California in Santa Cruz, Pfotenhauer dedicated his full attention to the resale shop he lived and worked in, while creating a few custom packs on the side. Even though he was manufacturing his packs at home, Pfotenhauer quickly

“Osprey is, in large part, about exceptional relationships… between the pack and its wearer… The pack and its makers…”

-Pfotenhauer established himself as an innovator in the outdoor equipment field. His pack creations were a local hit and by word of mouth became a valued item by avid adventurers throughout the country. When making custom surfboard-bags and special request day packs began to wear on Pfotenhauer’s motivation, his wife proposed the idea to create a company based on his original passion: backpacking. Taking his wife’s advice, Pfotenhauer started Osprey Packs.

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Pfotenhauer was

alway ahead of the curve.

He stared incorporating

breathable mesh panels to his designs in the 70s, he introduced a line of custom fit packs for women in 93’, the first of their kind on the market, and he has been consistently perfecting break-through suspension and compression systems for backpacks for decades. He worked his way up to the front

“My personal philosophy is that I enjoy life more if I’m surrounded by things that I built myself.”

-Pfotenhauer lines, working in competition with companies such as The North Face, Camelbak, and Marmot. What set Osprey’s design apart from other packs on the shelves was the signature organic, almost sculpted aesthetic of the packs and how those features made the packs exceptionally comfortable and customizable. When the competition started to shift production to oversees, Osprey could not keep up with the dropping prices if he kept paying US wages, so while he had avoided it for as long as he could, he shifted Osprey Pack’s manufacturing facilities to Vietnam. Passionate about continuing the quality of production and product, Pfotenhaur moved with his family to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to oversee the first 4 years of production and properly establish the 011

Osprey Vietnam Quaity Control and Design Centre. Since then, Osprey has flourished. Osprey’s newest backpacks feature a suspension system Pfotenhauer claims he has been trying to design for the past 25 years.

Pfotenhauer on a sewing machine, demonstrating to a Navajo factory worker in the Osprey production facility (circa 1990s) in Cortez, Colorado.

Osprey’s 2015 Atmos and Aurora AG packs in use.

Detail of the Anti-Gravity Suspension.

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DESIGN IN NATURE VERONICA VILLHARD ASHTON DEWBERRY KATIE HOLMES PARKER DOOLE

Quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson

VERONICA VILLHARD Design in Nature is Veronica’s first published book. Her interest in nature and love for design sparked the idea to collaborate and reseach with some of her fellow classmates.

Veronica is an avid hiker and biker and she hopes to become an outdoor equipment designer as Mike Pfotenhauer, featured in this book.

Today, she resides happily in Lawrence, Kansas where she is working to complete her degree in Industrial Design from the University of Kansas.

Cover design by Veronica Villhard Cover photograph Š 2014 by Max Rive Quote by Mae Jemison FLANNEL BUFFALO ISSUING 1632 Engel Road Suite 417 Lawrence, KS 66045 314-910-3605 www.fbi.com

“Fascinating.”

-TIME

NGISED NI E R U TA N

“A riveting compilation of design and photographic works.” -Times Magazine

“Inspiring.”

-LIFE