Looking for a Great iPad Pro Leather Briefcase?

( As told to Jody K. Deane by Michael Santoro, President, and Chief Creative Officer or MacCase, Feb. 2016 )

Jody: Tell us, what's the best leather iPad Briefcase to you?

MS: The best 12.9 iPad Pro leather briefcase case is protective, timeless, beautifully made, thoughtfully designed and easy to use. The best case will endear itself to its owner. It becomes part of who they are, like their favorite pair of jeans.

Our vintage brown leather takes this to another level. The hide will patina in over time, getting lighter in color as the oil evaporates out but darker in color where you touch it. Eventually, your case will only look like your case. Customers love this about our vintage leather. They're going to love how the vintage patinas in on the 12.9 iPad Pro Briefcase.

JKD: What's the genesis of the design?

MS: A leather messenger-style shoulder bag was part of the original Premium Leather Collection that launched in 2007. It is a model that has proven to have real staying power and market presence. Even after over a decade on the market, it is a still top seller and continues to make new fans around the world.

For our next shoulder bag we zigged while everyone else continues to zag. We wanted to do a briefcase but something far different from the plethora of horizontal cases that others already make.

Another reason for our desire to do something different with our vertical "Flight Case" was to provide a viable option for those who were graduating from the nylon messenger bags of their early 20s but were not ready for the leather briefcases of their fathers. Our vertical leather briefcase providers the perfect solution to this dilemma.

When the 12.9 came out and the iPad Pro Briefcase design phase kicked off, we took stock: We have a traditional, horizontal, messenger style, shoulder bag and a radical, vertical, fully structured briefcase in the line. When it came time to sit down and create the "form factors" for what were to become the iPad Pro models, we looked and tried to figure out what we were missing.

A Horizontal Version of our Flight Jacket

JKD: So what was missing?

MS: One of our most popular form factors of all time is our Premium Leather Flight Jacket. A vertically oriented case of minimal bulk but maximum style. During the many hours of design time spent on what was to become the new iPad Pro cases, we kept coming back to the same question.

What if we did a horizontal version of a Flight Jacket? What would it look like? Could the proportion work? What about storage? A backpack version? Minimal and compact with just enough storage to keep the functionality high, it seemed like a natural.

Sketching on the new leather iPad Pro briefcase began in earnest. There is one thing about being successful in anything for nearly a decade, it can create an expectation or an entrenched way of doing things that can stifle creativity and innovation.

In the tech world, the process of not falling into that trap is called "creative destruction". Apple did this when they killed off the gum stick iPad Nano and replaced it with a model no one seemed to ask for or wanted. Sometimes creative destruction works, sometimes it doesn't.

For the leather iPad Pro briefcase, we had to choose between doing something completely different or leaning on our success and going with something more comfortable. While there was a strong case for each side, in the end, we wanted the fact that the case was for the iPad Pro to be the delineating factor.

The center visual design theme created by emphasizing the Pencil holder pocket would separate it enough from the other Premium Leather models, but we still wanted it to look like it fit in with the rest of the line. In essence, we wanted it to be the best.

Much like the way a car company strives to have all their cars look like they are part of a family, we wanted the same for our iPad Pro cases that were going to be part of the Premium Leather Collection. (This is what happens when the guy creating all of these bags is a former, award-winning car designer).

iPad Briefcase Design Details

JKD: Once you knew you wanted a horizontal design, what happens next?

MS: Once the basic theme was chosen, work started on the storage. What should it hold besides the iPad Pro, and how much of these other things does it need to carry? Under flap storage proved to be a development obstacle.

We wanted the pockets to be able to hold the charger and other more three-dimensional items, at the same time, not affect to surface of the front panel to the point of distortion.

Inside the main compartment, the case is fully lined with the same super soft, super protective polyester suede fabric used in all our Premium Leather models. There is not a single element of the interior that will ever cause harm to your iPad Pro.

For the under flap, front panel many pocket types were tried and discarded. We needed a pocket that would expand but not distort. After much testing, we feel the final design works well. The pockets flank the visual heart of the new briefcase, the Apple Pencil pocket.

Each of the new Pro models feature a vertical pocket that houses the Apple Pencil or similar stylist. The pocket is fully lined and designed so the top of the Pencil is available for easy removal. Standard pen loops and credit card slots are also part of the front, under flap design. Behind this front panel is a place for magazines or other assorted flat items.

The Pencil pocket vertical element theme is featured on the full-width rear panel pocket as well. While this new briefcase borrows heavily from its Flight Jacket brothers, there is one area that is much different.

One of the most successful things about the Flight Case vertical briefcase is the way the flap attaches to the body of the bag. On the Flight Jacket models, this was achieved through the use of Velcro and the removable pouch was attached with a metal, side squeeze buckle.

For the iPad Pro Briefcase, we went with the same step up as on the more expensive Flight Case, opting for a horizontal clasp to secure the flap. We borrowed the much more substantial handle design from the Flight Case too.

The Best 12.9-inch iPad Pro Briefcase

JKD: So all these details add up to what?

MS: These details allow for not only a securely functioning case but a case that feels solid, secure and substantial when you are walking around with it. This positive user experience is something that MacCase strives to achieve in every design. This was a very important part of the development of all the new iPad Pro cases.

The iPad Pro Briefcase was part of the largest new product initiative in our history. Considering the "here today, gone tomorrow" nature of many of the case companies that have come and gone since MacCase invented the Apple-specific case market almost 20 years ago, this design has been important for us.

I just spoke to a customer who had us build him a custom iPad briefcase as part of our Custom Program several years ago. He was calling to order another one. He told me he never expected all the compliments and questions people have about his case. He mentioned it was definitively, not only the best iPad case he's ever owned, but the best briefcase, period.

JKD: Do you feel you achieved your design goals?

MS: We set out to build the best leather iPad Briefcase we could. We made sure it had the features the users of Apple's largest tablet wanted. We also made sure it was a MacCase through and through. This brief encompasses and expresses all of the brand values that MacCase holds as first principals: Innovative, timeless design, outstanding functionality, bullet-proof build quality, the best materials and the industry's best protection for the Apple Pencil.

When you add these up, this equals the best.