Cooper.

A koala looks like anything but weatherproof: plush-toy looks, half-asleep face. And yet that dense fur is a real coat. It insulates pretty well against cold and damp; it's what he wears to spend the night out in the open, rain and night chill included. I carry that built-in coat over to a backpack that's going to take yanks, seat scuffs and days of pouring rain: a little guy made to lug what the world throws at him.

On the front goes his portrait, face-on, in the shirt with pink, orange and blue hibiscus. I created him looking straight ahead, on a clean background, so he reads at a glance when you cross a lobby or hop on the metro. A koala in a floral animal print isn't what people expect on a backpack, and that's half the fun.

Cooper is the kind who shoulders the day without complaining. In his story he's up before dawn, does what needs doing and holds his people up by hand, more calm than rush. This backpack inherits that way of walking: you sling it on, load up the day's stuff and keep going.

It works as a school bag, a travel backpack or one for work. If you're going to wear it eight hours, it might as well have a koala with character on the front. The whole story of Cooper — who he is, where he's from and what he carries — is on his page; here he arrives light, in backpack form. And if you like how this koala fits into everyday life, he's from a whole family of Animal Kinhood characters I make myself, Yago Partal.