During the last five years of building Cozy, perhaps the most important thing I discovered was that, observing and listening to customers is one of the most effective ways to discover new products.
Great design is not only helpful and functional, it is elegant. We spent a lot of time designing PocketDock to be both sleek and sturdy. A lot of this planning came in the CAD stage of designing. Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of a computer to create and optimize a design. It’s used to create 3D designs with the precise measurements and geometry of a finished product. These designs can then be used for manufacturing. We used Autodesk Fusion 360 to create our CAD for PocketDock. It helped us turn our drawings into a 3D model to see how we could realistically create a final product. This stage was especially important in designing the dock to fit...
At Cozy, we create products to improve life without adding clutter. Good design reuses existing materials, giving them more utility and functionality in the simplest possible way. That was our goal for PocketDock. Once we had an idea of what we wanted PocketDock to be, we set out with Paper and Pencil by FiftyThree to design it. Paper allowed us to sketch and revise complex drawings with all of the simplicity of a pencil and paper. It helped us keep our drafts organized so we could share them and get feedback to create the best possible product. Our design process always starts with a need. We designed PocketDock to simplify smartphone charging. Our phones deserve better than sitting on the...
In 2001, Roger Shawyer designed the EmDrive: an engine for space travel that could theoretically run forever. Not surprisingly, people thought the idea was impossible. Image by EmDrive Shawyer’s design used microwave technology to create thrust from electrical energy, eliminating the need for propellant. This meant it could continue running forever, no stopping for interstellar gas stations, as long as the mechanical parts of the engine didn’t break down. Fast forward to 2009. Chinese scientists tested the engine and determined that it actually worked. Now, American scientists are testing it as well and coming to the same conclusion. Shawyer’s Impossible Engine, which people originally dismissed, could end up shaping the future of space exploration. Shawyer’s engine became a reality because...
It’s surprising how hard it is to get a simple design just right. At Cozy, we create simple products that solve an everyday problem and get out of your way. We call it invisible utility. That doesn’t mean we think small though. Edwin H. Land, founder of Polaroid, invented instant photography back when that sort of advancement seemed like magic.He stated “If you sense a deep human need… you make the system to fulfill that need, rather than starting the other way around, where you have something and wonder what to do with it.”Back then, Land sensed a need to remove the distractions of photography. And when he learned that the technology he needed didn’t exist yet, he pushed through innovations that...
