I love talking with companies and founders that care about craft. They are invested in the details. It’s a rare thing to find products that care both about the breadth (spectrum) of what they are creating, but also can consistently bring excellence to the smallest details.
I’m really excited to bring to you today a conversation about one my favorite brands: Aer. Founder Allen Choi has been working diligently on building a suite of products that exude an eye for incredible taste and careful attention to details: whether it is high-end fabrics like Ultra400X or the wheels and closures on a piece of luggage.
I hope you will enjoy this conversation and get lost in the details of Aer’s design and philosophy along the way.
1. Aer started in 2014 with daily carry and gym bags. Since then you've expanded into various travel bags. The Carry-On represents a further step forward into Travel carry. Can you talk about the journey of Aer over the past 10 years and what about luggage is exciting for you and your team?
Aer started 10 years ago with a gym/work bag for commuters in San Francisco. At the time, no one was offering anything thoughtful or well-made in this space so I wanted to see if I could do better. I created the original Duffel Pack and put it up on Kickstarter and we fortunately made our funding goal. Once our backers received their products, we got a lot of feedback and comments about how people loved to travel with the Duffel Pack, which is something I didn't expect. That was kind of my aha moment and since then, we've been building Aer into a travel-focused brand.
What's exciting about luggage is that it's a completely different category from bags and backpacks. A few years ago, we realized if we wanted to be a true luggage company, we had to offer suitcases to cover all the needs of today's travelers. Even I was using suitcases during my travels and often wondered how Aer would approach the category.
2. As a designer, how do you approach a new project like this? Obviously there is a whole industry of travel and luggage products. How do you resolve in a project like this to find visual profiles and approaches that are unique and yet still remain true to Aer's ethos?
We don't often break into new categories so for this project we worked with Box Clever in San Francisco to develop the product. I was previously a designer there so it was exciting to reconnect and work together on something so huge for us.
In terms of the industry, there's a ton of luggage products out there but we saw a gap in the market for premium, thoughtfully-designed suitcases at an affordable price point, which is similar to our approach with bags. We also felt like there wasn't a suitcase out there that spoke to our customer and brand so we wanted to create it.
3. Let's talk details. The Aer Carry-On is full of technical design details: Makrolon polycarbonate, Hinomoto miraclent bearings and wheels, CORDURA nylon interior, Fidlock closures, premium leather. Could you talk a bit about how you approach material selection and how those choices shape and inform the design process?
Yes! This is where we were able to put our spin on the category. At Aer, we believe in using the best materials and trims possible to ensure our products last a lifetime. This is why we work with the best suppliers in the industry and for our Carry-On, it was a no-brainer to apply the same approach. In a way, the materials and trims picked themselves as most of the choices mirrored those of our backpacks and bags.
For some components, we ran into some hiccups due to our material choices. An example of this is our pairing of Hinomoto's miraclent® wheels with a brake system. Hinomoto tolds us we were the first company in the world to combine their highest-end wheel with this particular brake system so there was a lot of trial and error in ensuring the brake system was functioning properly. In the end, everything worked out well and we're excited to offer this feature.
4. As a designer myself iteration is something that fascinates me. Could you expand on how you approach iteration and prototyping for a physical product like this? How many versions of the Carry-On did you work with and develop to get all the details right? How did you know when it was ready to release to the public?
A lot of the prototyping and development was happening concurrently at Aer, Box Clever, and our partners in Asia. We went through many rounds of samples and prototyping using 3D printers locally and creating working samples of the shells and components with our supplier in Taiwan. It was an interesting process because a lot of the development was happening independently of each other and everything came together toward the very end. This was due to the fact that suppliers and technicians were spread throughout the world with many of the components having different lead times. We knew it was ready to launch when the Carry-On felt and functioned with the fit and finish we expected it to have. It's an exciting and satisfying feeling when there are no more comments to be made and all the issues have been worked out.
5. What is the philosophy that undergirds Aer's approach to design? How does this manifest in the products you create?
The philosophy is simple in that we aim to balance form and function using the best-in-class materials and components. You'll see this clearly when you handle our products in person — the overall look and feel is clean and sleek but when you go deeper with the product, it's loaded with quality materials, features, and details that make up the Aer brand.
Something I've observed over the years is that while our philosophy remains the same, we've had to dial up the form or function knobs based on where we were as a brand or where the industry/culture was at the moment. Right now, I'd say we're cranking up all the dials to evolve the product and keep things fresh and exciting. 2025 is going to be a great year for us and our fans.
I’ve had a chance over the past year to experience Aer’s Carry On luggage and Ultra collection firsthand. The usefulness, consideration, and attention to details are phenomenal. Here are my top recommendations if you want a place to start:
Carry-On Max: the best luggage I’ve used with smooth travel, locking wheels, and durable interior lining and trim.
City Pack Pro 2 Ultra: a perfectly sized utility backpack that is perfect for travel, adventure, work, or play with some of the strongest materials available.
Day Sling 3 Ultra: daily sling in an ideal size made of incredible Ultra400X fabric with fun zipper pulls.
Travel Kit 2 Ultra: an essential dopp kit for travel that can easily double as a tech accessories case—what more can I say!
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