PRODUCT: “Pink Envelope” – The Monogram Envelope by Yves Saint Laurent
PROBLEM: Nicole’s overspending habits, tied to her love of clothing. The Envelope provides a high-end, stylish solution that fits her look and allows her to manage her budget and keep it in mind.
RESEARCH:
Primary: As Nicole’s close friend, she has confided in me many times about how she often is in trouble with her father due to her overspending on primarily clothing, and how it causes her great emotional distress. I witnessed this firsthand during the observation period; observing several major designer splurge purposes and being asked to ensure she didn’t spend over a certain amount during a shopping trip together. This request prompted my idea for a device that would help her budget.
Secondary: For my personal budgeting, I use an app called Mint by Intuit that tracks spending by category of purchases, allows users to keep budgets and goals, and warns when users are going over budget. Taking inspiration from items such as cash-counting piggy banks, I wondered if there was a way to integrate this kind of technology with an actual wallet, in which the app could sync with the wallet, not just a bank account. While I could find no such existing wallet, I knew of another budgeting system in which cash per month is sorted in sealed, categorized envelopes and used accordingly, and that helped inspire the design of the wallet. For the design, I knew I wanted something that was fashionable, tailored to Nicole, and with an inserted screen as well as syncopation with a phone app for full functionality, and that is where my design idea began.
QUESTIONS:
- Why would you need something to budget with?
Because I have an issue with spending too much per month. - Why is your spending a concern?
There’s a set amount I can spend per month and my dad flips when he sees I go over, which is always. - Why does your dad flip when he sees you go over?
He doesn’t want to spend all his money on things I don’t need like clothes. - Why are you spending so much on clothes and things you don’t need?
I like to go shopping to give me peace and calm me down… clothes are cool and I like to change up my look a lot. - Why does shopping give you peace?
There are so many things I can create and mix in a kind of artistic sense, it puts my mind at ease.
From this exercise, I found out the core issue that I wanted to address with my design: Nicole’s budgeting issues. I also learned that style is very important to Nicole as she treats it as a creative endeavor and something to relieve stress, which is why it was essential for me to include this in my design and personalize it to her style. This led me to asking for her favorite designer (answer: Yves Saint Laurent), which led into my final idea for the project.
TAG IDEAS:
- Spend safe.
- Spend in style.
- The splurge to end all splurges.
- Smart spending in style.
- Finance frugalizer with frill, for you!
FINAL PRODUCT:
The final product is a personalized wallet from Yves Saint Laurent that features a pocket system in which money can be organized into different categories or “envelopes” according to budget areas, the values of which are scanned into the wallet’s connected app along with credit and debit cards. The till updates immediately as money enters and exits. The interior screen on the wallet provides budget alerts, warnings, and updates upon opening, and only unlocks budgeting pockets upon a password confirmation with electrified magnet technology. The wallet is connected to a full-fledged budgeting iPhone app like Mint, in which Nicole can set her budgets, categorize purchases, view transaction history, et cetera. It also has some personal decorative touches, like an embossed silver playboy bunny on the inside and a classic YSL monogram on the outside.
The wallets’ screens only greet the opener and ask for a password, as shown, and warn of low budgets when detected upon opening. Upon entering the password, the wallet allows for its envelope folders to be opened and money to be removed from them. For budget setting, analytics, sensitive information, etc, one must use the connected phone app and login information which would be encrypted securely.
The envelope design of the wallet past the walls of the mock-up looks basically like this.
An example of what the app might look like, courtesy of Mint by Intuit. This image is not mine.
