Bowie | Smartphone Accessory
Year: 2019
Duration: 2 Weeks
Smartphone cameras have changed the paradigm of photography. I recently purchased the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, and one of the reasons is because of its camera quality. When I see something interesting, I just take out my phone and click a picture. Discreet, intimate and always accessible, I carry it wherever I go, and take great pictures no matter the time of day, place, or orientation. Inspired by this amateur enthusiasm of mine, I conceptualized Bowie.
Defined by the philosophy “the best camera is the one that’s always with you”, Bowie is designed to take mobile photography a step further. Designed around my current phone, it is a modular unit of two parts: the Bowie back case and the Bowie Pro-Grip. Bowie offers the comfort and control of a professional camera in the small footprint of your smartphone. More importantly, it manifests the digital controls of the smartphone camera app on its ergonomically designed physical buttons and dials for a more haptic control over camera settings, offering an intuitive and comfortable user experience.
Smartphone
Accessory
+
Mobile
Photography
+
Physical
User Interface
The New wave
Mobile Phone Photography
Smartphone cameras today have become so advanced that camera performance is one of the major influencers to smartphone sales. The serious competition among companies to outperform each other has led to some brilliant innovations in mobile phone cameras and this has given rise to a new wave of enthusiasts and professionals called mobile phone photographers. Taking on the conventional forms of photography and inventing new genres of its own, mobile photography is shifting the paradigm of photography, striking a near-perfect balance between portability, convenience, and performance.
Empowering Performance
Smartphone Camera Innovations
Smartphone innovation these days is a lot about cameras. They are getting better and smarter. With breakthrough innovations in software and hardware, the industry is striving for DSLR-like picture quality on smartphones. Over the past few years, we have seen innovations with sensors, different lens, dual aperture, low-light photography, slow-motion videos, lossless zoom, optical image stabilization, image processing, etc. These innovations further widen the scope of mobile photography.
Reference: "The aesthetic and ethic dimensions of human factors and design" by YILI LIU.
High Information
Processing demand
Stimulating, Challenging, Thrilling.
Eg. Video games, Professional Cameras
Frustrating, Tricky,
Confusing, Exhausting
Unattractive/
Displeasing
Attractive/
Pleasing
Easy and fun, Enjoyable,
Interesting
Eg. Toys, Smartphones
Monotone, Dull,
Dreary, Boring
Low Information
Processing demand
Mobile Phone
Photography Accessories
Today a wide range of accessories are available that cater to the needs of mobile photographers. These include grips, rigs, mobile cage, external lens, mobile case, and tripods etc. However, these accessories have their limitations. Some compromise on portability, while others on usability.
The Grip Problem
Hand Machine Interaction
However advanced the smartphone cameras become, from a usability aspect, there is one major problem, and I am sure everyone must be facing the same issue. Handling the smartphone while taking pictures. The pinch grip while delicately holding your phone between the index finger and the thumb is not very suitable for any kind of photography. There is always a risk of the mobile phone falling off, shaky hands, limitations with experimenting with new angles due to lack of control, fingers blocking the camera, and inaccessibility to other features of the phone among many other reasons. The resulting lack of confidence in the photographer due to the complexity of handling the smartphone results in a compromised quality of pictures and not being able to use the smartphone camera to its full potential.
Power Grip
There are different types of hand grips, and they are classified based on the human hand and machine interaction. Although there exist different classifications, for this project I have focused on two of these: the power grip and the pinch grip. In the power grip, fingers are usually wrapped around a handle or grip offering a large area of contact. Movements are carried out by the powerful muscles of the forearm, upper arm and shoulder, rather than the delicate muscles in the palm. It offers increased control while compromising on accuracy and fine movement of a precision/pinch grip. Eg. using a hammer, driving a car.
Key Features
Camera vs. Smartphone
Understanding the key features that have been transferred from a camera to a smartphone.
1. Viewfinder and LCD on camera becomes the screen on a smartphone.
2. Interchangeable lens on camera are the permanent lenses on the back of a smartphone.
3. Settings button and Adjustment dial on camera become different buttons and a slider respectively on the smartphone. Eg. ISO, Shutter Speed, Focus, White Balance, and Exposure.
4. Camera mode dial of camera becomes sliding options for modes on smartphone. Eg. Photo, Pro mode, Panorama, Video, etc.
5. The shutter release of the camera becomes the big white button on the phone screen. Also, the zoom toggle becomes pinch-to-zoom touch gesture on the smartphone screen.
Bowie
Bowie is designed in two separate modules: the Bowie back case and the Bowie Pro-Grip. The Bowie back case pairs with the phone and acts as a connector for the Bowie Pro-Grip. The design is modular for the sake of convenience. While the back case is unobtrusive and can be left on indefinitely, the user has the option to easily attach and detach the more function-specific Pro-grip when not in use. Both the modules offer threads for mounting external phone camera lens.
Bowie back case
The Bowie back case uses NFC technology to pair with the smartphone. It doubles as a beautiful back case for the phone, and with its 20 pin copper electrodes, a connector for Bowie Pro-Grip that is magnetically snapped with it. The threads on the camera cutout facilitate mounting of external lenses. The Bowie case, made with hard rubber finished in sandstone along with a soft rubber padding at the back offers optimum grip.
Bowie Pro-grip
The main function of the Bowie Pro-grip is to offer better hand-held control to users while shooting pictures or videos on a smartphone. Additionally and more importantly, once attached to the back case, the buttons on the Pro-grip can be physically manipulated to make adjustments in the phone camera app without any lag. This means control of camera settings without having to stretch your thumb or fingers over the huge screens of today's smartphones. With the Pro-grip, you can click pictures and shoot videos holding the phone just like you would a professional camera.
Digital UI to Physical UI
1. The main dial with different camera adjustments for quickly switching between settings. Here the main adjustments are ISO, Shutter speed, White Balance, Focus, and Exposure.
2. The sub-command dial allows making adjustments to the selected camera setting from the main dial.
3. Shutter release performs the same function as tapping the white button on screen.
4. The pinch-to-zoom on touchscreen is manifest in the toggle switch right around the shutter release.
