Information:
Tristan, 23, Research fellow IMA NYUSH.
Daily routine:
Wake up—>metro (45-55min)—>in the building—>go out during lunchtime—>building working—>metro back—>sleep
Free time:
Watch shows with friends
Do gardening on weekends
Tabletop RPG games
Browse internet
Project:
Electron engineering
Improvements wanted:
Commute (metro time 50 min, 2h/day)
Goals:
Exercise more (need reminder and fixed time, keep track)
Read more (need more researching)
2 mobile phones:
Chinese school from school (iPhone): 30min/day
WeChat (communicate, payment)
Baidu map (prefer bus lines)
Apartment looking app (requires Chinese number)
Features:
Not a big fan of Apple
Standard, basic
American phone (LG gx?): 1-1.5h/day (uses the laptop more)
Slack
Browse internet
Music
Pleco
Features:
Case (needs to be customized for the phone): two parts: Basic protection (protects well); stand (very convenient)
Case restrict plugin audio cable, too thick: hard to plug in a large audio jack
Likes physical button on Android
Favorite app:
WeChat(C): utility
Baidu map(C): bus lines
Spotify
Firefox
Pleco: Chinese translation
Youtube
Calendar
Notepad: take notes
Least used apps:
News apps (APNews, NPR)
Requirements:
Doesn’t require a high-quality camera
Doesn’t require good speakers: uses headphones
Doesn’t need complicated features
Likes bigger interfaces: holds comfortably
Likes the phone stand!
Problem:
Vertical placement blocks audio…
Needs bigger memory (requires external SD card)
Lock button closes the screen when the phone is placed horizontally
After quick analyzing, we decided to focus on redesigning the phone case, we wanted to design a case that can meet both his requirement of supporting the phone and not blocking the audio jack or pressing the lock button. By achieving this design, we would be having his main concerns solved.
The first case we came up with was a case that has a stand which the user can slide it inside the case when using, the stand supports the phone with a triangular supporter and the side underneath the lock button side avoids the button. However, the case remains thick as Tristan’s original case and it couldn’t ensure the completeness of the case if the phone falls to the ground. Therefore we decided to move to another design.
Inspired by slime and the slimy keyboard cleaner, we came up with a case design which Tristan can use to sculpt his case however he wants to. The slime is sculptable but isn’t too soft, and has good flexibility within it. He can sculpt the slime to avoid the button being pressed while supporting the phone at any angle he wants to. Also, the slime can be a great buffer for him if the phone drops on the floor.