Neat Music Cheryl Chong Nur Hafizah Lynnette Ng

Brainstorming Session Genre of the problems that we want to solve  Hand phones, MP3s and iPod related problems Problems that we have identified: 1. Wires of earphones always get entangled 2. The devices that help store the earphones are usually not attached to the case and are rather expensive. 3. Hand phones and music players drop out of the pockets sometimes. 4. Cases of the music players and handphones get rather dirty sometimes 5. It is very troublesome to take the handphone out of the pouch when it is ringing, but the pouch is needed to protect the phone as not all phones have available silicon cases or phone wraps.

Rating the problems Problem identifiedInterest 40% Able to solve? 15% Impact 15% Budget 30% Total Earphones always get entangled The devices that help store the earphones are usually not attached to the case and are rather expensive Hand phones and music players drop out of the pockets sometimes Cases of the music players and handphones get rather dirty sometimes It is very troublesome to take the handphone out of the pouch when someone is ringing, but the pouch is needed to protect the phone as not all phones have available silicon cases or phone wraps

Decision and aim We have decided to combine problems 1 and 2, since they are closely related. Thus, the solution will have to be somewhere in the line of something that keeps the wires of earphones untangled and is attached to the pouch. The solution must also be rather cheap as the target audience is mainly students and the working class. The solution must also have a nice design so as to attract the attention of the potential buyer. The brainstormed solutions are as follows:  A pouch with buttons sewn on them and a Velcro strip to go over it to keep the string in place.  A tiny pouch attached to the handphone/ MP3/ iPod case to keep the earphones inside.  Ridges around the case to wind the string around.  Retractable earphones

Pouch with buttons sewn on them and a Velcro strip to keep them on ProsCons Within budget ($2)Will be quite time consuming to sew the buttons on Will be quite attractiveDesign may not be pleasing to everyone, especially guys Compact Easy to find the materials

ProsCons Quite easy to makeQuite bulky Easily within the budgetThe earphones will still be tangled up in the pouch Will be quite attractiveIts quite unlike a guy to carry around a dangly pouch from his handphone, so its not exactly very unisex A tiny pouch attached to the handphone/ MP3/ iPod case to keep the earphones inside.

ProsCons Very compactWill be hard to design the ridges Will be quite ok to look at, considering the ridges cannot really be seen Ridges may damage the pouch Not very cost effective Ridges around the case to wind the wires of earphones around.

ProsCons Very compactAlready invented Will not have a very high chance of dropping from the pouch and being entangled Will not be cost effective Very user friendlyVery hard to manufacture on our own Retractable earphones

Chosen Solution Solution chosen: Pouch with buttons sewn on them and a Velcro strip to keep them on. It is the easiest to make while being cost effective and allowing us to achieve our aim, which is to solve the problem of entangled earpieces. ProsCons Quite within budget ($2)Will be quite time consuming to sew the buttons on if they drop Will be quite attractiveDesign may not be pleasing to everyone, especially guys Compact Easy to find the materials

Prototype 1 Piece of cloth with buttons sewed on it. Buttons used are the plain and normal type of buttons. Blueprint of Prototype 1

Evaluation of Prototype 1 ProsCons Materials cheap and easily availableNot appealing to guys Simple to make: just sewButtons are loose, will drop easily Buttons used as a template to where the wires are coiled, substitute for ridges on the pouch Difficult to coil the wire around the buttons Earphones may still fall due to loose buttons

Improvements to consider (i) Change the type of buttons used: eg. cloth buttons. Change the colour of the pouch to something more appealing to both sexes. Change the design of the pouch: not so many flowers and girly, so that it would be appealing to both sexes. Try to find something that does not need to sew, so that it would not drop out easily in place of buttons. Replace buttons with some “pop-up” stuff: eg. Plastic molds, Silicon molds, Toothpaste covers…

Prototype 2 Instead of using plain, normal buttons, cloth buttons are used. They are sewed onto the cloth. ProsCons More firm than the normal type of buttons, not easy to drop Too fancy for guys Simple to make: just sew the buttons onButtons are expensive Difficult to sew it back on when it drops Buttons are protruding, and therefore bulky

Improvements to consider (ii) Since the buttons protrude too much, a piece of Styrofoam could be placed on the pouch. Some dents are made in the Styrofoam, and the buttons are then glued in place. A more durable and flexible material can be used in place of cloth buttons. Something that is more firm than buttons used to prevent the case of buttons dropping out.

Materials used for final prototype For the casing, we have decided to use something durable and flexible, hence the choice of silicon in place of the buttons used to wind the earphones around. The buttons have a high chance of falling out, and silicon used in place of the buttons would be more firm, and the wires would be held in place more firmly. Silicon is cut from a handphone pouch and glued onto the Styrofoam. Styrofoam is placed beneath the silicon, and is the Velcro is stuck on it. Velcro: Holds the wires of earpieces in place and provides additional reinforcement for the earphones.

Evaluation for final prototype ProsCons Within budgetTime consuming to glue the silicon on if they drop Attractive, appeals to both sexes Compact Materials easily available Silicon much more firmer than buttons

What we hope to do Find a cheaper alternative for Silicon, to reduce the cost of the prototype. Make the pouches of different colours, for different ages. Make the Styrofoam more colourful, so it appeals to the young. Use a thinner piece of Styrofoam, to make it less bulky. Make the Silicon “molds” of the same size, so it is a standardized pouch. Cut the Styrofoam into different shapes and sizes, to suit the wide variety of tastes that the public has.