OneCord is a smart wearable device that uses voice, GPS and cellular transmission to provide a reliable communication channel to the most important people in your life. It works by recording brief audio messages and transmitting them back and forth two bracelets, like a walkie talkie. It also uses multiple technologies and can be configured to send out alerts with prerecorded voice messages, text messages, emails, and dial phone numbers in an emergency situation.
To create the ideal user experience and form factor for the feature set defined by the client and help them craft a story they could pitch to raise money from investors.
We brainstormed different features, use cases and form factors for the product. We also researched other wearables for inspiration to create a unique experience for OneCord so that users would choose to wear it instead of a smart watch or fitness tracker.
We storyboarded all the different use cases for the product. Our audience was parents with small children, pregnant women and elderly family members. We created example situations targeting each type of audience that would clearly show the benefit of using onecord.
As we were defining the form factor we looked at many common mechanisms used by wearables in the market. After exploring different ways to interact with the device we settled on the button press mechanism as this was the easiest interaction in an emergency situation.
As the bracelet allows you to send and receive messages, we added a light indicator that would show the user if they had received a message (orange light) or their message had been sent (blue light).
The button press and lights were paired with vibrations and sound messages to help the user through the flow and avoid confusion. When a user receives a message the bracelet will vibrate and say “New Message”. When the user sends a message the bracelet will vibrate and say “Message sent” and “Message Received.
We used our research and design to help craft the story around the product. Below is the video I helped produce that highlights the bracelet’s use cases and functionality.
