Design Deep Dive #1: The Travel Passport Holder

Find it a hassle accessing your passport from its cover? Hate the bulge of your bulky passport holder in your pocket? Tired of peeling and flaking passport holders that fall apart? Struggling with disorganised travel essentials?

That said, passports are mandatory when it comes to travel. So if they are here to stay, so will passport holders and covers in all sizes, styles and materials. Whether you are an outdoor adventurer, city explorer or working professional, durable, feature packed passport wallets and holders will help protect your passport from the elements and make travel more organised.

Welcome to Design Deep Dive: A series where we delve into the fine details behind why and how we design our products, from ideation and prototyping to execution and launch.

In 2017, we identified 4 key problems with the traditional passport holder or cover, so we set out to design the best one possible.

The Problem:

Conventional Passport Holders are Simply Lacking

1. Poor passport access (Takes "forever" to remove and put back)

2. Too big and bulky (Bulging pockets)

3. Doesn’t last (Peels and flakes, wears out too fast)

4. Does one job (Wasted "real estate", lacks organisation)

The Goal:

Create a Compact and Durable Wallet that holds a Passport and Travel Essentials

The Process:

1. Enhancing Accessibility: Reimagining the Passport Slot

Passport holders come in various designs that impact the way your passport is retrieved and stored. There are the ones like book covers that secure both the front and back covers of your passport. This design offers the most difficult access. On the other hand, there are also ones that store the entire passport without flipping any pages open, which offer the easiest access, but at the expense of a slim profile.

We reckoned that a balance between the 2 designs would offer room for innovation. We explored if the passport could be held securely with only the back cover secured, reducing bulk. Furthermore, we found that the larger area of leather covering the passport, the tighter fit would be, but at the same time, if it were too tight, it would be difficult to remove and put back. We also realised the longer the slot, the easier to store the passport, as it would have more room to expand. After months of sampling, we found the perfect solution - a diagonal slot that was allowed easy access, but yet was tight enough that the passport would be secure.

2. Minimising Bulk: Optimising Form and Function

Conventional passport holders often exhibit excessive bulk. Recognising the standardised B7 passport dimensions (88 × 125 x 5 mm / 3.5 × 4.9 x 0.2 in.), we sought to achieve a snug fit without compromising accessibility. It’s a balancing act of profile dimension and thickness, to create the most compact, space efficient passport holder.

5mm Margin - Slim yet functional

Through rigorous prototyping, a 5mm allowance was determined to be the ideal margin, resulting in a compact and efficient form factor that embodies Dieter Rams' "form follows function" principle.

3. Elevating Passport Protection Using Full Grain Leather

Contemporary passport holders primarily prioritise basic protection and privacy, typically resembling book covers. While materials range from plastic and leather to metal, durability and aesthetic longevity are paramount. 

Full Grain Leather - Ages like wine

Considering the typical passport's 10-year validity and Gnome & Bow’s expertise in full-grain leather, this material emerged as the optimal choice for enduring elegance. Not only will it outlast many of your passports, it will also age gracefully like wine, forming a patina and telling a story that is uniquely yours through the scratches and colour variations. With the right leather care, it will last 10 to 30 years or more. Explore our passport wallets and holders.

4. Beyond Protection: A Travel Ecosystem in Your Pocket

Within the golden dimensions of our passport holder, we meticulously optimised every inch to serve a purpose. 

Since passports are essential for travel, it would be of great convenience that our passport holder could help store and organise other travel essentials like cards, cash, coins, receipts and tickets. 

Secondly, we noticed the need to store your home phone SIM card and ejector pin, as we often misplace them when traveling. 

Lastly, with the rise of RFID theft (or skimming), we needed our passport holder to have RFID protection for credit cards and the bio-chip in our passports.

Our first design was the Gulliver Passport Wallet - a feature packed passport wallet that has 5 card slots, 2 cash compartments, ticket holder, coin storage and of course a customer cut out slot for your phone SIM card and ejector pin.

Our second design was the Gulliver Passport Holder  - an ultra slim passport holder that has 5 card slots, ticket holder, plus phone SIM card and ejector pin slot hidden behind the passport slot.

For both designs, an RFID blocking lining is hidden beneath each card slot and warped internally around the whole wallet protecting your credit cards from fraud and personal information from identity theft.

The Solution:

A Durable, Compact and Thoughtful Travel Ecosystem and Companion

We finally designed a slim, hard-wearing and convenient leather passport wallet, so you can travel better and smarter. Drawing inspiration from the innovative craftsmanship of Q's gadgets for James Bond, our passport wallets and holders seamlessly integrate discreetly powerful features into an elegant and pocket-friendly package. The result is a sophisticated and understated travel companion meticulously engineered with a focus on both form and function. Explore our passport wallets and holders.

Did you miss a feature that you hope to see? Let us know in the comments below.