User:Chelle-ma/Backpack Bed

The Backpack Bed by Swags for Homeless is a portable individual sleeping unit for camping, disasters and homeless.

The unique patented design is a backpack and bed in one unit. Based on the Australian traditional sleeping swag.

History
Designed by husband and wife team Tony Clark and Lisa Clark, it was initially designed to alleviate the needless suffering and deaths of street-sleeping homeless without shelter. The design took a couple of years to perfect as manufacturing in Australia proved impossible. Production finally progressed in 2009 and the first shipment arrived on Australian shores in late 2009. A special fabric had to be designed in order to fabricate the Backpack Bed as there wasn't a fabric tough enough outside of the Special Armed Forces which was deemed suitable for purpose. Litetrex is ultra-light (2.9 kg), tough enough to withstand constant use in harsh environments, meets 47 international safety standards, is fire retardant, water and mildew resistant - all features deemed essential to protect the health and well-being of vulnerable street-sleeping homeless.

Usage
camping, survivalists, hunting, fishing, motorbiking, hiking, cycling, sleep overs. The Backpack Bed is sold online to the public as part of a social enterprise supporting charity Swags for Homeless. 100% of the profits are returned to the charity to further homeless projects.
 * Camping: The Backpack Bed is suitable for camping and outdoor use where portable lightweight bedding is required, including:


 * Disasters: The Backpack Bed is also used for disaster response and was recently distributed after the 2013 Oklahoma Tornado outbreak in the USA.
 * Homeless: The Australian national not-for-profit charity Swags for Homeless distributes the Backpack Bed to street sleeping homeless people without shelter - via partnerships with over 300 homeless welfare agencies in Australia, USA, UK, NZ and Germany.

Models

 * For camping
 * Backpack Bed Original model
 * Backpack Bed Vast model


 * For homeless and disasters
 * Backpack Bed Original model
 * Backpack Bed Tropical model

Awards

 * International product design awards include:


 * Red Dot 'Best of the best" Germany 2011
 * Edison Award USA 2013
 * IDEA Award finalist 2014
 * A'design Award - Italy Social Design 2014


 * National product design awards include:
 * Australian International Design Award 2011
 * Powerhouse Museum Design Award 2011
 * Melbourne Design Award 2012
 * IDEA Award Finalist 2012
 * Australian Innovation Award 2013
 * Premiers Design Award Finalist 2013


 * Finalists in:
 * German Design Award nominee 2013

Museums

 * Museums that have acquired the Backpack Bed include:
 * Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Australia
 * Red Dot Design Museum, Essen Germany
 * Centre National des arts plastiques, Paris France
 * A'design Museum Italy

Books

 * The Backpack Bed has been featured in the following publications:
 * A’Design, Awards Yearbook, Italy (August 2014)
 * Innovation, International Design Excellence Awards, USA (Fall 2012)
 * Centre for Creativity and Innovation, Chengchi University, Korea (June 2012)
 * Doing, Red Dot, Awards Yearbook, Germany (July 2011)
 * Design Diary, Red Dot, Featuring “Best of the Best” Winners, Germany (July 2011)
 * ''Design Korea – World Best Design Australia", Design Korea, Korea (2011)