Before long they were trucking; the company outgrew the brothers’ apartment and moved to its own space in Zurich. Freitag opened flagship stores in Davos, Switzerland, and in Hamburg, Germany. Perhaps more importantly, it established an international presence online. The website allows online hipsters around the world to shop, create custom bags, learn more about the company, play branded games, and even apply for jobs.

Freitag.ch currently leads to a front page with options to enter the standard Freitag site, shop online, find a store, get news or go straight into F-cut. The innovative two part screen also frees the bottom section of the page for display of new products. A click on any of these images leads to a page containing a fashion show of sorts for the new line as well as images of older styles.

Entering the appropriate regional shopping store (Switzerland, Europe and worldwide) leads to a WYSIWYG-Shop (what you see is what you get). WYSIWYG conveys the uniqueness of each of Freitag’s item. If you shop in one of the flagship stores online, Freitag offers a live-cam option where an employee models the bag online before you decide if it’s the one for you.

Easily the best feature of the site is F-Cut, an innovative Flash feature (with both high and low speed connection options). Easy to use, this feature allows customers to design their own bags, with clear, useful instructions, help and guided tour options. After selecting tarp space (other brand advertisements become abstract designs on your bag) for each part of the bag, you instantly see a preview of the finished bag. The page also gives the price of the specific bag and the date the bag will be cut. Completely inline with Freitag’s individual approach, the buyer receives a uniquely created, one-of-a-kind bag.

The standard Freitag homepage opens with an illustration that clearly shows exactly which parts of the bag are made from which recycled materials. It also contains links on the left-hand side to information on the product, production, company history and jobs while the on right-hand side viewers can interact with the company – shop, visit links, watch F-TV, and play Freitag’s own branded game, Truck Stopper, where you cut the tarps, seatbelts and inner tubes and try to deliver them to the factory without being run down by the cars on the freeway (a bit like Frogger but much harder).

Overall the site successfully communicates and illustrates Freitag’s brand values and character. The individual nature of creating a bag or viewing how each is made brings to life the unique character of each Freitag product. The voice is friendly and direct; with causally dressed models illustrating the bags in use.

We might suggest a message board or blog-type section where Freitag bag owners can revel in their ownership and talk with other like-minded people around the world; the brothers might even use such a section to communicate with their fans.