Why are there so many unusual wallets on Kickstarter?

Nitsuh Abeb of New York Magazine found out why wallet designs are so popular on Kickstarer crowdfunding platform. Madrobots.ru presents a translation of this curious study , and also talks about its own Zavtra wallets, which are being raised right now at Boomstarter .



If you ever have the time and desire to study in detail the contents of the sections “Design” and “Technology” on the popular Kickstarter platform, then you will definitely notice the strange “wallet activity” prevailing on this resource. No, there is no need to talk about a technological pandemic yet: about 0.3% of the total number is devoted to wallets. However, against the backdrop of a million different things that are not presented at all on Kickster or presented in a single copy, dozens of wallets are quite a lot.

I’ll immediately notice that “folk” wallets are very diverse: here you will find classic leather wallets, and flexible cases for plastic cards, and clips for paper notes of various shapes and sizes, and flat metal wallets, the details of which are made using laser cutting . The variety of materials used is particularly impressive. Wallets here are made from almost anything - from the super-light Tyvek nanofibre to the bright scraps of vintage ties .

Looking at this purse bacchanalia, one involuntarily wonders about the reasons for such crazy popularity of wallets among “folk designers”. So, for starters, let's try to understand why wallets are made at all?

With this question, I turned to John Dimatos, the representative of Kickstarter himself, who oversees design and technology projects. In response, John asked me: “Tell me, if you want to create a regular wallet, are you sure you can easily do this?” Developing even the most straightforward wallet is always a certain sequence of actions that you must go from beginning to end, from a draft concept to a final product. "Far from everyone can build this sequence correctly and successfully implement it."

It turns out that for many novice designers, creating a wallet is a kind of test for design abilities. It does not require complex drawings, sophisticated electronics or a large number of parts. Typically, a wallet is assembled from several simple elements that are sewn together with threads, fastened with elastic bands or connected in some other way. The simplicity of the wallet design and the lack of high technology open up wide scope for creativity, and the simple form allows us to comprehend the basics of design.

I asked the same question to Stephen Greenberg, a novice Los Angeles-based designer who introduced the minimalistic Yubi wallet project on Kickstarter.. According to him, the compact wallet project is the best way to get your hand on something simple in order to use the experience gained in larger projects. “While working on Yubi, I made a lot of small mistakes that could lead to more serious costs, be it some kind of complex device. Having this experience, I launched my new project without any problems - the original Stackerware food storage system . ”



So, for many, the process of creating your own wallet turns into a real school of design. Moreover, every novice designer strives to create the best wallet in the world.

By the way, this “wallet-breaking” is observed not only on Kickstarter. Hasso Plattner’s Design Institute at Stanford (alternative name “d.scool project”) even has an open workshop called Wallet Projectin which within one and a half hours anyone will be told about the basics of design and various ways to solve everyday problems with the help of their own creativity. Participants in the master class test their design abilities just on modeling wallets. According to Thomas Both, an employee of d.school, the wallet is an ideal object for learning design, as its design directly depends on the habits, lifestyle and everyday needs of the owner. “When you come to the school of design,” says Bot, “they give you some simple thing, like a lamp or a chair, as an educational project. Creating a wallet is not only an excellent design school, but also the basics of marketing. For your wallet to interest the buyer, he must stand out from the crowd and embody some original idea. ”



For the successful implementation of such a project it is not even necessary to be a professional in this field and have a good school of design. By the way, the most “money” wallet in the history of Kickstarter, which collected the maximum amount of donations, was developed by film director Jack Sutter, who had never used wallets before. “For many years I carried my cash in my pocket, wrapping a bundle of banknotes with regular stationery,” Jack recalls. “Once I noticed that one of my friends was using the same method and I had the idea of TGT -“ Tight ”Wallet . In fact, it was just a more “civilian” version of my gum - more attractive in appearance and pleasant to the touch, as well as slightly more functional.



But the basic idea remained the same: the wallet should hold cash and plastic cards securely, easily fit even in the pocket of tight trousers. ” Launching the project, Jack appointed a pass bar of 20 thousand dollars, planning to make about 300-500 wallets. However, the idea of ​​a “tight wallet” unexpectedly appealed to the public and collecting more than 300 thousand dollars in donations, Jack received about 13 thousand orders.



Impressive, isn't it? The fantastic popularity of a small wallet, created by an absolute amateur in design, made me ask myself another question, why do people invest in "wallet" projects?

In our age of electronic payments and plastic cards, this may seem strange, but a huge mass of people still actively use traditional wallets. In fact, wallets are now in high demand. Given that the cost of such accessories in most cases is quite affordable, people easily lay out money for the opportunity to try out a new design.

“Each of us knows well what wallets are for,” remarks Dimatos, “but not everyone is happy with their wallets - many want to find an accessory that will be most convenient for them — like carefully selected orthopedic shoes.”

A small reflection on the subject of wallets reveals a serious unconscious frustration, which most of us are used to putting up with. To be honest, most traditional wallets are very inconvenient in everyday use. Year after year, decade after decade, major manufacturers of accessories repeat the same mistakes, accustoming us to the idea that it is not wallets that should adapt to us, but we to our wallets.

Of course, there is no perfect wallet in nature. We can talk as much as we like about the “ideal weight”, which does not pull your pocket, but at the same time sufficient to notice the loss in time. We can talk about the “ideal size” of a wallet: a tuyelka in a tuyelka to accommodate everything you need, but at the same time not a single extra millimeter will be taken. However, all our “ideals” are directly dependent on lifestyle, habits and surroundings. The design of the classic men's wallet was finally formed in the 40-50s of the XX century. However, much has changed since then, and modern man carries with him much less paper cash and business cards than before.



That is why in our time the concept of a compact wallet is very popular. According to Sutter, “This should be a wallet that does not need to be removed from the back pocket of trousers and laid out on the table when you sit down to dinner.” Therefore, Kickstarter's wallet demography is determined by minimalist design.

But, if all wallets solve the same problem, then what distinguishes one "wallet" project from another?

Carefully studying all the wallets presented on Kickstarter, you can see that each of them is a kind of balance point between the various needs of the user. Each new wallet tries to collect the most successful solutions and weed out the unsuccessful ones. As a result, we observe an interesting evolution of wallets, into which the natural selection of the most popular solutions takes place.

This happened to our friend TGT, which was followed by Slim and Crabby projects . All three wallets are based on the same principle, but their design differs quite significantly. Thanks to this variety, everyone can choose a compact wallet to their liking.



This, in my opinion, is the main advantage of crowdfunding - here, people do not adapt to new trends developed in the bowels of large corporations, but the things themselves adapt to the needs of people, creating the most comfortable living space for them.

Zavtra wallets from Madrobots.ru

We at Madrobots have long wanted to try our hand at manufacturing. In 2014, there were two attempts: a kettle and a TV set-top box , but the production of electronics turned out to be an extremely difficult and capital-intensive event.

Our team decided to start small. The Zavtra brand of wearable accessories has become that small: a thin wallet and a wallet-lining for smartphones. We are now collecting pre-orders on Boomstarter.

Compact wallet:



Wallet-case:



Today, you do not need packs of cash and piles of credit cards, so classic wallets that do not fit in your pocket are hopelessly outdated. Both versions of Zavtra contain the most important and truly comfortable.

Zavtra wallets are handmade from genuine leather. They do not stretch from constant use and maintain a decent look - we go with the first samples of wallets for more than a year.

Support us: learn more about Zavtra and pre-order on the project page on Boomstarter .