Why "Riut"? And, eh hem, how do you say it..?

Like Riut to get behind the scenes updates on Facebook You're starting a new company. It makes revolutionary rucksacks for urban travellers. What's important? You've got an idea, you can execute it and you've saved up enough to survive until your planned launch. Tick, tick, tick! Now you need a name.

Hmmm. A name. So many options... but here's how I got to Riut.

I'm a disciple of the Guy Kawaski way of doing things. I want the name of this company to reflect my mantra behind every decision I make. Every time I have a question or a decision to make there's one thing that drives me:

Revolution in user thinking

My design philosophy

So now you know: Riut is the acronym of my personal mantra - Revolution in user thinking - that I turn to for help whenever I have a decision to make. It means I am always thinking anew about the user, how his or her travel patterns are changing, how technology in the user's bag needs to be accessed and how that changes over time. If that means doing something in a totally new and revolutionary way, then so be it. As long as it benefits the user, it's worth it.

In practice, Revolution in user thinking is my approach to every seam, material, zip and angle on the RiutBag. It's my motivator to use stronger, longer lasting materials rather than to build a rucksack that falls apart after a few years' use. It's the reason I surveyed over 1000 people online who were open to and interested in giving their views on rucksacks and commuting. It's the drive behind launching the RiutBag online via Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform, and asking rucksack users to decide whether they want Riut to exist. It's my design philosophy to keep me on the right track.

User view

Whilst Revolution in user thinking keeps me focussed on you, it's also the impact that I want the RiutBag's design to have on you and your thinking. I've designed a rucksack which will make you feel safe, calm and confident as you move around towns and cities - those you know well and those newer to you. Given the inherent structure of cities is that millions of people who don't know each other are living and travelling densely side by side with increasingly valuable technology and access to data on them, this will improve the quality of life of the individual.

I designed the RiutBag so that you, the user, can have a revolution in your own thinking. Rather than feeling worry, suspicion or concern for the safety of your belongings, even for a second when someone brushes past your bag, you can leave those fears to one side. Instead, you can reclaim the estimated 10,000 hours of commuting travel and more on holiday for relaxation, imagination and, frankly, whatever you want.

Shape of the RiutBag

You will see that through a simple revolution of the rucksack - another Revolution in user thinking - the RiutBag was born. I'll be unveiling the RiutBag next week to everyone online in advance of the RiutBag Kickstarter campaign starting at the end of October.

Heritage

Finally, Riut is a word that already exists. It is a gaelic word meaning "with you". Given that I was born in Glasgow I'm proud to name the company with my Scottish heritage in mind. I want you to feel that your belongings are "with you" when you are commuting in, moving around in and travelling to the great cities which belong to every country.

How do you say Riut?

Here's the big one. *drum roll*

"Riut" is pronounced exactly like "riot". I'm a believer that disruption and a shake up of the norm can lead to brilliant outcomes. We see this in design, in business and in our lives on a small scale all the time. Riut is a disruptive design philosophy which takes its inspiration from thinking about the user afresh and anew every day.

I want to disrupt a few things: I want to wake up the rucksack industry to get them designing urban rucksacks like the RiutBag; I want to see this design spread far and wide. I want to disrupt the norm that commuting is a drain on life and boring; it can become as exciting as a holiday, alone time for you to think, read and listen to music without a moment's worry about your belongings. And finally, I hope that by allowing individuals to feel safer, calmer and more positive, that there is an overall positive effect in cities. Collectively, the mass of commuters, travellers and urban dwellers will disrupt the norm, having a positive effect on the city making it a better place to be in general.

That's Riut explained! Any questions, let me know. The RiutBag will be revealed next week and is available to back on Kickstarter at the end of October 2014. Just sign up here to find out about it.

Thanks for your support everyone!