Skills: Design Research, Intellectual Property Research, Prototyping, User Testing
Project Type: Product Design
How can we create a device that allows runners to easily carry their phones?
Grace’s Story
Grace is a collegiate cross country runner. Her freshmen year, she was running on a trial with her team when she began to feel a stabbing pain in her ankle. She was limping and couldn’t keep up with the rest of her team but she didn’t want to mess up their workout so she didn’t have anyone stop and stay with her. She didn’t carry her phone during her workouts and was forced to limp the remaining five miles back to her coach by herself.
“I couldn’t call my coaches either. I was terrified I was going to make a wrong turn and make [the trip back] longer””
Grace’s story isn’t unique. As we talked to runners we heard multiple stories of runners encountering dangerous situations that could have avoided if those runners had simply been carrying their phones. So why do a significant number of serious runners run without a phones?
The Problem
Existing devices are uncomfortable. They are bulky and sweaty, they chafe and they move around too much. Serious runners are currently forced to either accept these flaws and allow or risk running with no means of communication in an emergency.
“It’s not comfortable enough for us to use them”
”
User Needs & The Competition
Through user interviews we identified eight core needs for any device for runners to carry their phones and that each existing product was limited in at least one those needs
Our users felt that each exiting product was limited in at least one of the core needs.
“It’s bulky””
“It makes you unbalanced””
“The waistband ones will move around more usually so those aren’t great either”
”
““It seems like it would work as long it fits the phone””
“would only be only one bra for $40, most members of team own at least 14 sports bras””
To better understand the potential for innovation in a crowded space before we began prototyping, we conducted patent research.
Prototyping and user Testing
We brainstormed, prototyped and tested a variety of ideas.
Ultimately we chose the attachable pocket prototype. Here’s why:
Lightweight - at only 0.6 oz, pocketable is significantly lighter than both armband (2.4 oz) and waistband (2.9 oz)
Secure - outperforms armband, and waistband and is comparable to the bra with a built in pocket in vibration testing while running.
Low Cost - at a projected cost of $9 and given its ability to attach to existing bras, pocketable brings the high performance of a sports bra with pocket ($20-$40 per bra), at a significantly lower cost
Pocketable
Ultimately, pocketable isn’t a perfect product for everyone. Its expected use as a bra attachment limits its audience to mostly women and some casual runners may not be bothered by the sliding of a waistband or the feeling of being off balance that comes with an armband. However, when we talked to serious female runners and athletes they were bothered, often times so much that left their phones risked having no way to communicate in an emergency. For those athletes, pocketable offers a better alternative. It outperforms armbands and waistbands, and doesn’t require athletes to purchase dozens of new bras.