Finding Flow
Company
Year
Role
Credits
Kanoa
2014-2016
Design Direction, Industrial Design, Branding, Packaging, UI/UX
Roland Schwarz, Andrew Webb
A quintessential startup story
-
In 2014, I pitched an entrepreneur and a former SpaceX engineer on creating a next generation Hearable. Several new technologies had evolved to enable True Wireless in-ear audio, but early competitors were more focused on shoe-horning tech features rather than capturing a relevant use case.
We would leverage the benefits of the technology, connectivity and miniaturization, for people who valued freedom of movement as much as audio quality.
The Flow State.
Strategic position
-
Competitive athletes push the boundaries of performance and in any sport the highest levels are achieved with honing skills in repetitive practice. In action sports, creativity and style are more valuable than perfectly memorized routines, and for that, riders perform their best when in a state of flow. They psych themselves up before dropping in. Music is the key catalyst to sync looseness of body with focus of mind.
We set out to build a product for them.
Concept generation
-
The young founding team had a tight budget and were eager to see immediate progress, so we quickly dove into creating concepts. I explored three distinct design directions with unique approaches to fit methodology and the graphic read. They were excited about the Cell direction, the pentagonal shape, and my thinking behind it.
Fit theory
-
We tested each design on over 20 unique ears and would eventually offer multiple sizing jacket combinations for custom fits. However, the underlying geometry needed to be sculpted to common ear anatomy while fitting the necessary components within the enclosure volume.
01.
Five structures common to all ears:
Concha:
Cymba:
Canal:
Tragus:
Anti-tragus:
The main outer ear cavity.
The upper concha recess forms an anchor point where the helix and anti-helix roots overlap.
The primary anchor point and audio channel.
A Semi-flexible flap covering the entry to the canal.
Forms an undercut area, helping to retain the rear volume of an inserted device.
02.
Logarithmic spiral: a type of golden ratio that maps key points on the ear with a pentagon nesting inside the concha.
03.
The earphone would utilize all five structures for secure and comfortable fitment.
Component stack up
-
To achieve both comfort and a secure fit, the components needed to be packaged as efficiently as possible. I moved the driver into the nozzle, and everything else would stack over the battery. The light pipe doubled as a part mounting frame and we planned to wrap the antenna around the inside of the housing using Laser Direct Structuring.
Development
-
With each major design revision, we 3D printed multiple sets for fit testing. Using both SLA and elastomers allowed us to better simulate how the final product would actually feel, and the team was even able to integrate basic electronics into the prints. We worked with the engineering firm on mechanicals and the assembly process, while the contract manufacturer did detailed part analyses.
Signal challenges
-
As competitors like Apple would eventually release products with dangling external antennae, it was clear our form factor was a key differentiator that offered far better secure fitment. However, the fully in-ear format was pushing the limits of the available technology at the time. With all the other components locked in, the engineering team focused on improving the inter-ear connection. Initial testing was promising but it needed significant fine tuning.
User experience & interface
-
Bluetooth lossless audio was still under development but it was important that audio quality was maximized using the very best balanced armature drivers, occluding eartips and a seamless pairing experience. As we developed the app, we focused on a key feature for our athletes: Audio Transparency. Having designed many ANC headphones and headsets, I knew it would be a challenge to achieve with our limited internal space. The solution was an augmented mic spec. with a proprietary software algorithm which worked surprisingly well.
Full transparency
-
After completing the UX design, my contract as Design Director expired and I moved to an advisory role. All resources shifted to support the engineers as they feverishly worked to improve the inconsistent connection results. Missing promised deadlines had increased pressure to ship the product so the company tried a radical approach to keep pre-sale customers from cancelling orders; they lifted the curtain on major parts of the development process, posting a detailed account of the progress.
The drop
-
As pre-production was ramping up, assembled EVT units were rushed to several tech influencers. Unfortunately, one set, sent to a particularly vocal reviewer, exhibited the connection issues we'd seen earlier in the process.
Customers began to lose faith in the company and refund requests came pouring in...
Kanoa tapped a clear consumer desire, validated by over 50k units ordered and $7.5M in pre-sales.
The brand and design resonated with a market that was a perfect fit for an emerging technology.
Lessons learned
-
Despite the excellent momentum we generated, the company fell into an all-too-familiar trap; confusing customer engagement and marketing hype with solving technical challenges. Building something new isn’t easy, it takes ingenuity, skill, money and luck. However, this journey proved the most valuable asset of all is trust.