In recent years, the design world has seen tote bags become a great, cost-friendly way for artists to get their work out into the big wide world. Not only are they cheap and eco-friendly, with the right design they can also be something of a fashion statement.

There are millions of great tote bag designs out there, here we’ve picked 15 awesome examples. Which one is your favourite?

01. Sawdust

Launching last year, Sans Form is an independent label of printable and wearable goods. They have tons of tote bags on offer but it was this design from Sawdust that really caught our eye. Made up of the award-winning creative partnership of Rob Gonzalez and Jonathan Quainton, this tote bag shows that less is more.

02. Geometric Bear

We love virtually everything that uses good geometric patterns here at Creative Bloq, and this tote bag design is one of the most delicious examples we’ve seen. Designed by illustrator and graphic designer Budi Satria Kwan, we have fallen head-over-heels for the colours.

03. Cable Cars

Creative Bloq favourite Ben the Illustrator has collaborated with wife Fi to create a range of beautiful, hand-made, patterned fabric bags. There’s plenty of gorgeous offerings but we like this cable cars one the best! Take a look at their store for more brilliant bags.

04. Cardboard Cities

Colour, animals, nature, old films, science fiction, dreams and vivid imagination inspire illustrator and collage extraordinaire Laura Redburn. Her blog Cardboardcities is full of influential work and this tote bag design is one of the many that she has crafted. You can see more over on Society6.

05. Pomme Chan

Born and educated in Bangkok, Pomme Chan relocated to London in 2002 and has been working as a freelance creative artist ever since. Her intricate and detailed designs are gorgeously translated onto tote bags and this owl offering is just one of many.

06. Suit Tote

This amazing 100% upcycled suit tote from Poketo was made from a vintage wool suit, multicoloured corduroy shirt and reclaimed soft leather for the straps. The company created a series one-of-a-kind bags, each named individually like The Tim (above), after Tim Chan, publisher of the Corduroy Magazine. Part of an eco-awareness program in South Korea, this bag is not just cool from a fashion point-of-view but an environmental one too!

07. Girl on a Swing

This cool strap tote bag was created by Hong Kong-based product company 7 Little Moments. The entire design is focused around the strap and the effects they can create combined with printed artwork. Part of a series, there are three designs in total including one of the Eiffel Tower.

08. Street banner tote

South Korean non-profit organisation Eco Party Mearry made these beautiful, colorful upcycled bags from rescued street banners that would otherwise have been discarded. In an attempt to save waste, the company specialise in repurposing cast-off materials to create new and modern goods. And if these awesome bags are anything to go by, we hope they continue the good work!

09. Note bag

See what they did there? It’s a bag that looks like a note book… note bag! Replicating a traditional college notebook used in Japan, the felt bag was produced by design studio Yuruliku. The Japanese-based company take a slow and relaxed approach to their designs and base their theme on ‘little humour’ found in everyday life.

10. AllStar

Keep moving with this cool Allstar tote bag from One and the Same, a design studio created by Alessandra Olanow based in Brooklyn. Olanow’s drawings reflect her surroundings, capturing the nature of the city she loves. Cleverly incorporating the straps into this design, this is the perfect bag to carry your real canvas shoes around in.

11. Huge tote

Global digital agency Huge has created an awesome range of tote bags. They feature mainly typographical designs, including ‘Work is stupid’ and ‘Shut the fuck up and do your job’. But they also feature graphic design such as this one depicting the contents of a typical work bag – tablet, drink, headphones, keys, and… er… knuckle duster, obviously!

 

There are literally thousands of tote bags with typography designs out there but this one caught our eye. Rather than just a bold statement splashed across the bag, the use of typography here conveys a message in a cool and clever way. A collaborative effort between Twelvezeroseven and Baum-Kuchen, the canvas tote bags are a perfect example of an interesting way to visually communicate through typography.

12. Nutty tote bag

Lazy Oaf is famous for its bright pop graphic T-shirts, reversible sweats and accessories collections and was started by Gemma Shiel back in 2001. After selling her hand screen-printed tees on an East London market stall, the brand is now stocked in over 150 outlets. Most of their designs are created in-house but this ‘Nutty’ tote bag was designed by artist Jon Burgerman. A perfect collaborator!

13. Elephant Memory Pills

This cute design was created by Sloth Sundays, who describe themselves as your one-stop shop for letterpress and screen-printed goodies. Owned and created by Clara Kohn, Sloth Sundays create pillows, cards, bags, and even Christmas decorations. This is the bag for you if you’ve had one of those days with one of those clients.

14. Dust Eco Tote