Designing a computer that moves with your skin

MC10 had developed a flexible technology capable of simplifying and consolidating the process of collecting physiological data in longitudinal studies but they needed help in creating a marketable application, one that takes the user and their needs into consideration.

I worked closely with the team at MC10 to understand the capabilities and limitations of their new technology and to identify opportunities based on application scenarios. This new understanding was then combined with user research insights and feedback from subject-matter experts to develop in-use solutions with consideration for user needs and production requirements.

The end result was the delivery of two well-informed design directions for discreet sensors that enhanced performance, reduced customer pain-points, and increased product durability. In addition, this process also resulted new patents that improve functionality, allowing MC10 to limit a competitor’s ability to reproduce similar performance.

Project Overview

Understanding the Technology & Limitations

Working closely with project management and the engineering team to understand the potential, limitations, and concerns around the real-use application of this technology helped define additional considerations and areas of exploration.
Shown above: Serpentine leads between boards allow for a soft flexible end product.
Analogous Inspiration

Early in the project I began looking to both nature and manufacturing processes for analogous examples to draw inspiration from. This exercise would lead to design features that improve performance and helped secure additional intelectual property.
Creating Clarity with Themes

Working across so many teams of subject matter experts (none of which were design) I knew the importance of creating clarity in conversations. I listened to how the different teams verbally described their vision of the technology with subjective terms like “modern”, “minimal”, “organic” etc. I created boards that allowed teams to clearly articulate their aesthetic aspirations and build consensus.
Concept Generation

Using the findings from my research and the conversations with teams at MC10 I designed and facilitated multiple targeted co-creation workshops for concept generation. Prior to the workshops I collaborated with leaders at MC10 to establish down-selection criteria to be used in concept selection exiting ideation sessions. This helped fairly evaluate concepts against predetermined metrics and priorities in order to avoid “favorites” and biases when selecting direction.
Concept Refinement

Concepts that met the predetermined criteria were moved into a refinement phase where greater consideration could be given to specific attributes, material selection and product requirements. Introduction of Design for Manufacturing methodologies and component configuration moved to the center of our efforts and initial CAD modeling and component layout could begin.
Color, Materials & Finishes

With design direction identified and refinements underway I moved to the Color, Material & Finish process. Again, using boards to help clearly illustrate the potential for specific themes and applications. Consideration was also given to the manufacturing impacts and opportunities like in-mold features; texture and molded-in color (MIC) and the impact they might have to clean-ability of the final device.
On-product Branding

In order to reduce post-production processes and maintain a refined appearance the team was leaning toward in-mold branding. I worked with the team to identify alternatives and limit potential barriers presented by the small scale of the brand-mark and the difficulties some details might present to legibility, cleaning and tooling maintenance.

Final Design Direction(s)

The final design direction(s) allowed for an ultra-low profile, minimal aesthetic and feature a heavy bevel along the perimeter to prevent the device from snagging when worn under clothes.

Simple changes in the surface texture and logo were achieved through in-mold finishes making it much easier to clean and avoided secondary processes. We used black as a neutral in our renderings but the final design is intentionally molded in-color (MIC) to allow for future flexibility based on evolving business needs or customer desires.

Concept 1 shows “raised islands” which house the components and allow for locally thinning of material between islands (which house the serpentine leads). This means the assembly can now achieve a greater range of flexibility while still accommodating all components and respective clearance needs. This specific feature helped secure MC10 addition patents in order to protect their new technology.

In the end I delivered two directions for the final deliverable; Concept 1 fully leverages the newly secured intellectual property and Concept 2, which has a more minimal approach.

Working Across Industries