Form Prototyping

This project was conducted as a focused 3 week sprint. The main goal was to explore and propose a phone stand for a new mixed-reality card game. 

Osmo games are typically designed for tablet devices, expanding to phone devices would allow for Osmo to reach a larger audience. This was the first game that would be released on the phone platform. The primary hardware challenge was to make sure that the phone/game could detect which cards were played, and accurately translate the cards’ effects into the digital game. 

Key design features and constraints

  • Incorporate a phone stand to hold the phone at a specific angle.
  • Include a card storage solution.
  • Product should be portable.
  • Product should be a low cost entry point. 

Research

To kick off the sprint, I worked with the game and computer vision teams to better understand the specific challenges and restrictions I needed to solve.  I then purchased several off-the-shelf phone stands to play test the game interaction.  Through this process, I was able to narrow down which features we liked and what we would need to improve on. 


Brainstorming & Prototyping

After researching, I made some quick sketches and paper prototypes to quickly iterate and gather initial feedback from the team. For the early designs I focused on non-injection molded solutions, exploring paper and die-cut materials.

From there I prototyped injection-molded solutions by 3D modeling and printing prototypes. After creating several phone base prototypes, I evaluated the camera field of view across multiple phone devices and made adjustments to optimize for camera visibility. Throughout this process, I explored options to hold the phone at a specific angle and provide a storage solution for the cards. 


Testing & Feedback

Once we had all the prototypes, we held a design review to test out the interactions and gain feedback. From there, I ranked the designs based on 5 criterias: cost efficiency, mobility, durability, user experience, and field of view. After narrowing down to the top two choices, I refined the designs and arrived at the final concept, shown below.