Origin of an idea

There was nothing magical about getting my first smartphone, the iPhone 5. I remember getting the okay from my parents, the Verizon store setup, the hurried bike ride home, and the tinkering I did on it when I got there. Sure there was plenty of giddy excitement, but none of Apple’s promised magic. That came later when I was able to really use it to connect with the world in new ways. I instantly knew exactly how to get to places I’d never been before, I remembered everything I needed to, I had a photographic memory, and my knowledge seemed almost infinite, I was now superhuman.

I loved it and it became an extension of my body, there was only one problem, it was fragile. I hated the idea of covering up the beautifully sculpted aluminum and glass features in an ugly plastic case. However leaving it naked was not a long-term option, I knew that sharp objects would gouge its soft finish and pocket lint would find a home in its ports and speaker grill. So I started researching. I liked the idea of the various phone sleeves I saw because they offered the protection I sought and they could slide off the phone when it needed to be used. Although there was an obvious flaw, it would be annoying to pull the sleeve out of the pocket, slide the phone out with two hands, and then reverse the process when finished using the device. There were also the extremely dorky phone holsters that bulged out from your belt with very little discretion. These were not acceptable options so I left my phone naked and got designing.

From the beginning I knew it needed to be secured in place with the pouch opening positioned at the top of my pocket so that I could retrieve my phone with one hand. I came up with a system that allowed an adjustable tether system that connected to your belt. Inspired by the prodigious oil wicking ability of the Ipad SmartCover’s microfiber lining, I decided to line the sleeve with microfiber to clean fingerprints from the screen as the phone slid in and out. I also added elastic to the design to allow the pockets to expand to accommodate all of your cards and cash to replace your wallet. Finally I made it modular so it could be further adapted without the need to make new one. After countless sketches, I had my design. I ordered materials, learned how to sew, and started building.

Initially I was quite happy with the finished product, it worked exactly how I had designed it. Then as the months went by I began to notice problems. The tether system was an arduous process that made swapping out the belt annoying. I also noticed from friends testing that it was rather unintuitive. I tried for months to remedy some of the design’s nuisances, but I hated the solutions because they all made the already overcomplicated design even more complex. After about a year of use I decided I needed to start over with renewed focus on the truly important features. This time I knew I needed to drastically shorten each phase of the development and feedback loop; design, build, test, and learn. I needed to rapid prototype ideas, test them with other users, and evaluate and learn from the results. Since that realization, the tether system has become a breeze; it functions better than my wallet, and its more adaptable, beautiful, and easily manufactured than ever.