PLAY CLOTHS
Mobile Music for the Active Listener
Concept
Play Cloths is a wearable music experience for runners and actives on the go. Through adopting the "Previous-Play-Next" button layout of the Walkman, iPhone and many other music playback interfaces into wearable form, Play Cloths seeks to streamline the music control and listening experience for actives on the go.
Precedents
Levi's Philips ICD+ Jacket
"I am walking down the street listening to my MP3 player when, suddenly, my mobile phone rings. The MP3 player slows automatically to a polite stop, allowing me to take the call. I listen to my friend through the same earphones that, just a second ago, were bringing eardrum-busting tunes to my head. I have to call the office. I speak into the microphone that's built into my jacket and the phone, with the aid of fancy voice-recognition technology, dials the number for me. I don't have to press a single button. Well, sort of."
The ICD+ jacket: Slip into my office, please
Personas
Playtesting & Prototyping
Prototype 1
Initial Button Layout
Feedback
Initial feedback included concerns about whether the buttons would be hard to touch when running based on the placement on the arms
Users felt more comfortable hitting their chest area because it was more stable and in a fixed position
Prototype 2, 3 & 4
Testable button layouts
Selected Button Layout
For the next round of play testing I honed in on the upper-chest area. Users stated that the play/pause functionality would be the most important feature for them. Users also felt confusion and an inability to accurately hit them buttons when they were all in one line/the same size.
Design + Technology = Making
After testing multiple button layouts, 1 layout was selected and developed following market and materials research. Some initial competition research included the Nike Tech Knit Windrunner, Rains, and the Adidas x Palace Tech Jacket which covered the bases from style to functionality. Weather and humidity was a huge concern and materials were tested to ensure the proper amount of resistance was apparent in the materials. Headphones and control buttons were embedded and hidden into the jacket.
Market & Materials Research
Making & Design
