Park City, Utah, USA

Kyle McDonald from Skullcandy, a company that creates products that are targeted at the outdoor action sports—present the Skullcandy Dime True Wireless Earbuds that are designed with the consumer in mind, focusing on making social signaling accessible to the masses, which is often only enjoyed at higher price points.

The buds are meant to democratize the true wireless experience with a low-price tag.

The project has been awarded a 2021 Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, for its easy to use features.

The “easy to use, hard to lose” mantra also played a role in deciding to design a “keychain” functionality to be added to the product.

By allowing users to attach their Dime True Wireless Earbuds case to a keychain it would help eliminate fear of loss, promote an interest or passion for music, and create awareness of where the buds are at all times.

A big goal for Dime True Wireless Earbuds’s design is to reduce the overall size and footprint of the product from the start.

It is apparent to the Skullcandy design team that the case needs to be the size of a car key fob so it could easily slip into a user’s pocket.

Adding the cutouts to the case lid helps reduce as much unnecessary plastic as possible while making Dime True Wireless Earbuds better for pocket-ability and portability.

As a brand, Skullcandy is actively looking for ways to reduce plastic use in products and has been removing plastic from packaging as well.

The cutouts on Dime True Wireless Earbuds also reduce the wall thickness to minimize case height, which allows for the user to quickly see if their buds are secure in the case or missing, and it provides a design feature that differentiates the product from the rest of the market.

An intentional deviation from traditional case designs pushes the industry to have debates and discussions about the product and how the industry can improve.

Dime True Wireless Earbuds’s design features offer a unique audio experience in a portable package at an affordable price.

So much of the time, entry-level price point products get overlooked, or there is a generous level of acceptance for mediocre design because the price justifies such mediocrity.

With Dime True Wireless Earbuds, Skullcandy wants to break that stigma and solve problems for the consumer without breaking the bank.

Size, use case fears, and social signaling are at the forefront of problems.

These insights come about from a deep dive into what Skullcandy’s opening price point consumer really wants and what they care about.

This doesn’t negate other insights found from higher price points either.

The same social signaling desires a consumer has when buying a $100+ earbud can be present at the entry level price point.

This is often overlooked when creating a product at this price level.

So, it is decided to learn from real-world examples.

The goal is to celebrate individuality.

By designing Dime’s keychain, the users can be helped to display it as a way to express their personality even when not in use.

Project: Dime True Wireless Earbuds
Designers: Kyle McDonald, Skullcandy Inc.
Manufacturer: Skullcandy Inc.