Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year's Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com
Designer: MINIMAL - Scott Wilson
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Category: Products/Equipment
Award: Runner-Up
TikTok+LunaTik simply transform the iPod nano into the world's coolest multi-touch watches. Obsessively designed and crafted from premium materials, TikTok+LunaTik complement the impeccable quality of Apple products.
TikTok+LunaTik were born out of a personal passion for watches and timepieces but quickly captured the imagination of thousands around the planet via viral awareness and the crowd-funding platform. We assumed that there were enough Apple fans and tech geeks out there that had been dreaming of the "Dick Tracy watch" that we could justify a small production run. And we wanted to create products for the discerning Apple consumer and not just create a cheap accessory product as an afterthought. This was the driving force behind choosing to make this an in-studio experimental project and one that would not require us to compromise on the quality of manufacturing, retail, distribution by taking on an investor.Of course, we also had to think about how to manufacture LunaTik in precision aluminum and at a cost that was within reason. The design was intentionally constructed from two identical axially symmetric parts thus creating the two-part case from one part. And even though the user has to ultimately assemble the LunaTik around the nano, it is a rewarding and transformative experience in which we receive tremendous positive feedback. Our goal was never to enter traditional retail but with the success and awareness of the project, all the retailers and distributors came to us and we were able to turn the table and dictate terms.
Core77: What's the latest news or development with your project?
The LunaTik saga continues to unfold and we continue to challenge conventional business models and thinking. Over the last 9 months we have created a very successful and viral digital and e-commerce business and set up global distribution. Apple contacted us shortly after Kickstarter and we are now globally in the Apple Stores as well as online. There are some new products coming out this fall, including a metal + silicone hybrid strap called LunaTik Lynk and a few other products that grow the LunaTik brand into other categories. We are also looking at a new partnership that will turn our global LunaTik fans into viral sales reps.
In the end the project was impactful on so many levels and continues to open up new opportunities for both LunaTik and MINIMAL. It will be interesting to see what happens next. Stay tuned.
What is one quick anecdote about your project?
There have been so many. Before considering Kickstarter the design being rejected by industry experts and brands and said to be too expensive and niche. The moment it hit Gizmodo and went from $6,000 to $80,000 in 8 hours on the first day. Having the 100 limited edition $500 Spread the Love Party Packs sell out in 2 days and Steve Wozniak buying the 98th one. Going from 2 weeks worth of work and a $200 rapid prototype to $1m in 30 days and fulfilling over 20,000 products to over 50 countries in under 60 days. Running into Jonathan Ive in the Clift Hotel bar and giving him the LunaTik off my friend's wrist. Being on Fox News and being asked why I didn't run off to Mexico with the money. Getting a frivolous C&D from artist Ke$ha over the use of the word TikTok. Being stopped on Apple's campus in front of VPs to sign the back of LunaTiks. Being labeled a serial design entrepreneur by the VC community, business leaders and press. It has definitely been a wild ride and one of the most rewarding projects of my career. Not so much from a product standpoint but from aspect of how many people, designers and aspiring entrepreneurs it has inspired around the world.
Read on for full details on the project and jury comments.
You can pre-order the LunaTik Lynk metal band, MINIMAL's latest product, at LunaTik.com