Concept Timeline
Research 3 days. Total project 21 Days.
My Role
UX Design, Research, Industrial Design Team Manager.
Concepts, 3D Modeling, Lighting/Rendering, Presentation.
Role was evenly divided among an ID team of 4 including me.
BACKGROUND
Puregear is one of Superior Communication’s brands. My team is also the design team for Superior and Puregear.
CHALLENGE
Increase Puregear’s product line and sales by developing a mobile case targeted towards active lifestyle customers like athletes, vloggers, and travelers.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Athletes, vloggers, and travelers need a way to safely use their handsets across different extreme sports and activities.
THE SOLUTION
A modular phone case that attaches to different accessories for extreme sports and activities.
PLANNING
We had only 3 weeks for research and design. I immediately broke down the project timeline for my team.
HYPOTHESIS
We can win business with a product that allows customers to use their smartphones like a GoPro.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
GoPro dominates the market for active and sports vloggers. I searched articles and forums such as Reddit and Quora on GoPro vs. Mobile phone comparisons to study the market. Here are some interesting quotes.
“First the GoPro is more ruggedized than a smartphone, meaning you can strap it to things and it can take a fair bit of abuse.”
“The convenience factor of using a smartphone as your vacation/adventure camera is high, but the drawbacks may be even higher. There is simply no getting around the fact that the ergonomics of these devices as cameras are simply awful. They are thin, slippery, and without any sort of handgrip or strap options.”
SURVEYS
Ideally, I would have run a user survey on demand for a GoPro alternative using customers’ phones if there was time, budget, and buy-in from executives about the importance of running user surveys before designing concepts.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I ran a PROS and CONS of GoPro vs the latest smartphones.
PROS
Better lowlight performance
Horizon leveling to 45-degree tilt
Excellent image stabilization
Removable lens
Accessories
CONS
Heavy
It was slightly more expensive than last year.
flagship
Low battery life
New flagship phones have good image stabilization.
USABILITY INTERVIEWS/QUESTIONNAIRES.
2 of my teammates owned GoPros. We discussed key GoPro accessory mounts to incorporate into our system. I also emailed questions to 2 of my friends who are long-time GoPro users to test my hypothesis.
1. Would you consider using your phone in place of a GoPro if you didn’t own a GoPro? Why or why not.
2. What would keep or convince you to use your phone vs a GoPro?
3. Would you use a phone case that offers accessory attachments for different activities like GoPro? Why or why not.
GOPRO TESTING
We had a GOPRO 7 in our office with some mounts, and a waterproof case which we studied with for a couple days.
INTERVIEW INSIGHTS
Users would consider using their phones if they offered impact protection with an ecosystem of attachment options like GoPro.
PROTO PERSONAS
Due to the short time, we found images and created simple proto personas based off Purgear’s established target market that could use in the presentation. Some of the images changed by the end.
Age: 15-35
Amateur athletes, travelers, and vloggers
A segment of customers wants to use their phones to record outdoor activities without purchasing an additional GoPro device.
BUILDING 3D MODELS
To save time, we started with an existing case we’ve built for another unused project as our base and reworked the shape.
SETBACKS AND REFOCUSING
As we were diverging into too many areas.
We were headed into too many concepts and handsets have a flashlight and although this light would be much stronger, it would be awkward to hold. We decided to kill this and focus on the stronger directions.
FEASIBILITY
We reviewed our designs for feasibility with the Mechanical Engineers at our factory.
REVISIONS
Minor revisions were made to our 3D models based on the engineer’s feedback.
THE FINAL KEY SCREENS
The final product.
A modular phone case that attaches to different accessories for extreme sports and activities. Customers who upgrade phones only need to buy a new phone case to continue using attachment accessories.
CONCLUSION
Follow Up
Ultimately this was a BlueSky project and never made it past the concept stage. We went into it knowing there would be a high tooling cost and a low chance these concepts would be manufactured.
What I’d do if I had more time and a budget.
I would have run a survey to test my hypothesis. I would create 3D printed working prototypes and user tests our mock-ups for feedback.
Conclusion
Ultimately in the fast pace world of mobile consumer electronics, many mid and smaller-sized companies haven’t adopted user testing due to quick turnarounds and low awareness of the benefits.
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