"THE BAND" BY VIRGIN VOYAGES
In partnership with Mindtribe and Virgin Voyages, Fjord (part of Accenture Interactive) was tasked with delivering an original wearable design for VV’s brand new cruise ships. The quick program’s scope included initial ideation, prototyping and user testing all the way to documentation and support for manufacturing.
We wanted to create a design that feels right at home with the rest of the Virgin Voyages brand and their "adults only" target demographic in the context of an all new cruise ship experience. With a strong focus in comfort and ease of use, it should feel familiar and non-obtrusive, it should feel equally appropriate for beach days in bikinis, exploring rocky ruins, sunset photo shoots on the top deck, and glamorous evenings in cocktail dresses.
With Virgin Voyages having a strong focus on sustainability, both the bracelet and shell are made with recycled, ocean plastics. The bracelet is gifted as a souvenir for "Sailors" to keep after the ship reaches its final destination, adding meaning and a new life for the product. While the electronics housing stays behind and is designed to be reusable or recycle-able after the trip.
The Band was selected as the winner of the 2020 SF Design Week Award for the Travel and Hospitality category.
Lead Industrial Designer: Alejandra Castelao
Industrial Designer: Jay Murallon
Lead Mechanical Engineer: Andy Kriebel
Prototype Engineer: Dave Sharps
Leadership: Youenn Colin, Max Burton, Bryan Trautsch, Tom Hsiu
Client: Virgin Voyages
Industrial Designer: Jay Murallon
Lead Mechanical Engineer: Andy Kriebel
Prototype Engineer: Dave Sharps
Leadership: Youenn Colin, Max Burton, Bryan Trautsch, Tom Hsiu
Client: Virgin Voyages
The Context, the Audience and the Brand were aspects pieces to consider when designing the object itself.
The main components of the wearable are the electronics package, complete with the tech stack necessary for communicating with the rest of the system and the bracelet band, which should be universal and adapt to fit all different wrist sizes.
Ideation and initial concept development exploring the before and after transformation of the wearable, during and after the trip. The design of the bracelet had a strong focus on human factors and ease of use.
Rapid prototyping and model making for usability testing sessions and focus groups.
Final Concept and CMF development and documentation for fabrication.
An easy and straightforward electronics module detachment method feels familiar and leaves behind a subtle but special souvenir from your trip.
Final production units were ready to "ship" by Spring 2020.
Ultimately we strived to create a wearable that didn't feel "techy", that felt just right and at home in its context and left the user with a meaningful yet unexpected moment of delight.
