STILLA MOTION™
Pro-Active Bluetooth Tracker Solution
Client: Stilla Inc.
Date: 2017
Design Challenge
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Larceny/theft occurs because people often leave their belongings unattended or out of sight and realize they have been stolen when it’s already too late. How can we help people stay vigilant with their personal belongings at all time?
User Journey Map
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I mapped out an end-to-end user journey of a typical user behavior of facing a larceny incident to visualize areas where we can address the user pain-points.
This exercise helps me synthesize an initial hypothesis that users would like to get notified as soon as possible when items get detached from them (highlighted in green • ).
User Pain Points (highlighted in red • ):
- User not knowing when the item move away from the user.
Examples: pickpockets, someone mistakenly grab items that looks similar to yours.
- User leaving things behind momentarily (intentionally) to perform a quick task but making it expose to larceny crime.
Examples: leaving stroller in theme park to go on a ride, leaving backpack and laptop setup in a coffee shop to order a coffee, playing at a beach and leaving car keys and phones exposed.
- User sometimes forget and leave things behind (unintentionally) in public area.
Design Research
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In order to understand how to design the product properly, I began my design process by conducting competitive landscape analysis to find the right market opportunity.
The result from this research phase is that I became aware of how competitors built their products, how to position Stilla in the market, roughly estimate the manufacturing cost, and learn about the onboarding experience of some of these products.
Affinity Mapping
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By synthesizing the research data, our team was able to get the necessary information to identify key attractors, user preferences, sought values, brand identity, and engineering constraints. These ideas form into the basis of our design guidelines.
Story-Matrix
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To start the ideation phase, I experimented with several Bluetooth tracker devices such as Tile, Mynt, and Chipolo to help me create a story-matrix that can solve one of the user pain points in finding lost items.
Then I modified the story-matrix by integrating potential solutions that will address the remaining problems. By focusing on the pro-active approach, our team managed to improve the user’s initial reaction time which helps them to stay vigilant and quick to react in a larceny situation.
Design Inspirations
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Stilla brand as defined from the affinity map needs to convey multiple descriptive characteristics such as elegance, safety, simple, fashionable, and premium.
2D Sketch Ideation
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Using the pebble shape as an inspiration for the main form, I conducted a series of explorative and communicative concept sketches to get a better feel of the aesthetic.
Conducted engineering sketches to elaborate on how the product should be constructed and whether it is possible to further optimize the simplicity of the design by eliminating unnecessary parts such as a separate button.
Considering every aspect of the user experience, I added a small notch between the top and bottom enclosure so the users can easily pry it open without breaking a finger nail. Internally, the battery housing compartment was also carefully designed to allow ease of accessibility by adding a small ramp.
Iterative Prototyping
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During this iterative process, the goal is to quickly build, test, and analyse design concepts using low to high fidelity prototypes to gain further user insights and validating engineering feasibilities.
Design Solution
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Stilla has the capability to sense motion and send instant alert to your smart phone and smart watch simultaneously to inform the user of any unwanted activity. User will receive warnings such as sound and haptic vibration feedback to bring awareness. Additionally, Stilla has a virtual tether feature where if the device goes out of range, the user will instantly get notified.
Hardware Design
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Stilla's elegant yet simple form factor comes equipped with state-of-the-art motion acceleration sensor, extended Bluetooth range amplifier technology, piezo buzzer, replaceable battery, and IP67 waterproof enclosure.
Product Accessories
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TPU Sleeve Accessories
The TPU accessory gives the user flexibility on how they can utilize Stilla. With its lanyard attachment, Stilla can be hooked on a keychain, backpack, or purse.
Reusable Silicone Gel Adhesive
Stilla can be attached on any flat surface (non-texturized) using its reusable silicone adhesive. This covers a lot of use cases when the users want to apply Stilla on objects such as laptop, tablet, door, or windows.
Replaceable Coin Cell Battery
Stilla’s replaceable battery feature offers a competitive edge amongst its competitors. Additionally, it provides a longer product life span for the end users.
CMF Design
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Choosing the proper materials for the enclosure is important due to several factors determined by cost effectiveness, material weight, material hardness, and most importantly the material flexibility
Packaging Design
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The packaging design and unboxing experience needed to convey the same elegant feel as the product. Material choices and surface finishes were tested and mocked up to convey the idea of Stilla as a simple and premium product.
The packaging material is constructed out of one sided SBS (Solid Bleached Sulphate) Invercote C1S with laminated 0.3mm PET.
When the user slides out the inner EVA tray, the word “You Deserve Some Peace of Mind" is displayed underneath it. This small details elevate the unboxing experience for the consumer as it contains a witty message that reminds the users what Stilla is all about.
Reflection & Learning
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I learn that engineering restrictions can tremendously impact the product outcome and use cases. I’ve learn to be able to read and assess engineering data sheet to make a better informed decisions on product capabilities/features. By being able to speak the same language as the engineers, I can understand their concerns from their perspective and it also gives me the competency to challenge ideas that I believe will be beneficial for the end users and from the business perspective.
Through this project, I also gained an abundant of knowledege and valuable experience in project management skills. In a collaborative environment it’s important to be efficient, lean, and clear on communication. I achieved that by setting proper expectations, manage schedules regularly, conducting weekly meetings, and communicating often.
