Why Wearable Design Requires Special Attention

Wearable devices used to be the stuff of science fiction. But today’s watches, rings, eyewear, earbuds, apparel and headgear can do everything from tracking fitness and monitoring biometrics to providing simultaneous audio translations. To perform these feats, wearable devices require sensors to collect data, processors to analyze information and wireless connectivity to display and transmit the results.

This is a lot to pack into any product, let alone one that needs to be lightweight enough and attractive enough to wear. That’s the unique challenge of wearable design: ensuring the product provides the necessary functionality while remaining portable. Of course, the wearable device must also incorporate other principles of industrial design, including manufacturability, intuitiveness and sustainability.

Once considered a fad, wearable technology has become a part of everyday life. One study found that 44% of Americans own a wearable device to track their health and fitness, a stat that doesn’t consider other reasons for the technology, such as navigation, gaming and tracking. With the global wearable technology market estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.6% between 2025 and 2030, to more than $160 billion, understanding how design can differentiate devices is critical to success.

Key considerations when designing wearable devices

Wearable design needs to balance function and fashion. But that’s just for starters. There are a lot of considerations when designing wearable technology.

• Functionality addresses the purpose of a wearable device and the technology necessary to achieve that purpose. Functionality should also address how these goals benefit users. For a wearable that monitors blood pressure, providing the user with a number might not be sufficient if the meaning of the data isn’t also provided – and that meaning might vary depending on context. The context of a device designed to help serious athletes improve their training is different from that of a device meant to alert patients at risk of cardiovascular disease that they need to contact their physician.

  Once designers have defined the purpose of the wearable device, they can turn their attention to the technology and adjacent components, such as which materials are most suitable. What types of sensors and wireless connectivity need to be incorporated? How will the necessary miniaturization affect signal strength? What environmental factors does the device need to withstand: Perspiration? UV exposure? Vibrations? How long can the device work before it needs to be recharged, and how will it be recharged?

  Designers must also take into account the wearable device’s user interface. For instance, buttons must be easy to manipulate but not at risk of being accidentally pressed when the wearer is sleeping or moving. For devices worn outdoors, screens must be readable in both bright sunlight and after sunset. And, in keeping with the industrial design tenet favoring intuitiveness and simplicity, the interface cannot be overly complex, especially given that users will often be engaging with it on the go.

• No one wants to wear a 10-pound wrist strap. Wearable design should be ergonomic, comfortable and adjustable to a broad range of body types.

• Few people will wear, let along purchase, an unattractive or unfashionable shoe, shirt or head covering, regardless of what it can do – especially when there’s a competing product that offers similar functionality with better or less obtrusive aesthetics.

• Wearable technology is just as subject to cyberthreats as other smart technology, so security measures need to be built in. What’s more, the design of a wearable device should ensure that others nearby cannot read information displayed on screens as easily as the user can. And the device must provide the user with complete control over privacy settings at all times.

• The wearable will have to be produced on a mass scale at a cost in keeping with what customers will pay for it. This industrial design principle is just as applicable to wearable devices as it is to any other product.

The role of UX research in wearable design

UX research, as much as (if not more than) technological innovation, can make all the difference between a wearable device that’s profitable versus one that costs the business money, customers and its reputation. Collecting information from prospective customers and studying how they interact with prototypes and similar products goes a long way to ensuring the wearable fills a consumer need, not just the need of a brand to bring a new product to market.

Different UX methodologies provide different types of information, all of which can be incorporated to make the wearable design user centric. Surveys and other types of quantitative research help gauge whether there’s an audience for the wearable device and, if so, who it is and what requirements they have that are not already being met.

Qualitative research such as focus groups and one-on-one interviews with members of the target audience provide more detailed insights into consumer wants and expectations. Observing how users interact with similar products and getting their feedback about how those items meet their needs enables designers to fine-tune functionality, wearability and appearance. This also helps brands determine how to differentiate their wearable device from the competition’s and informs marketing efforts. In addition, observation and other types of qualitative research address a key shortcoming of self-reported surveys and questionnaires: what people say they do often differs from what they actually do.

Usability testing and observation should continue once a prototype has been designed, especially with each new iteration. And UX research shouldn’t stop once the wearable device has been manufactured and hits the shelves. The brand should continue to gather quantitative and qualitative feedback from users to prevent the product from becoming outdated or supplanted in the market.

How Material can help with wearable design

Material and our Aruliden industrial design studio have helped a lot of companies create functional, popular wearable devices. Our digital fitness wearables for WHOOP have been worn by the likes of Lebron James; the New York Times cited the Gizmo watch we designed for Verizon as the best smartwatch for younger kids. Our UX research team unlocks vital customer insights throughout ideation and development to ensure user-centricity; our designers tap into their experience in manufacturability to make certain products adhere to brand requirements and budgets.

Contact us today to see how our experience in wearable design can help grow your brand.

FAQs

What are examples of wearable devices?

Fitness trackers in the form of wristbands, ankle straps or rings are among the most popular types of wearable devices. These monitor activity levels (like how many steps the user takes each day), heart rate, sleep patterns and other wellness metrics and then provide suggestions for improving performance. Medical wearable devices are similar, tracking glucose levels for diabetics, blood pressure for those suffering from hypertension or hypotension, and other biometrics. Smartwatches and other devices also offer GPS functionality and contactless payment capabilities, while smart glasses can serve as AR or VR headsets.

What are the design challenges of wearable design?

Wearable technology poses some unique design challenges. For example, it must offer wireless connectivity and functionality via components that are smaller and lighter than those used in computers and larger electronics. Wearable devices also need to stand up to many environmental conditions, such as moisture, temperature extremes and constant movement. Wearable design should also ensure that devices meet the requirements of industrial design best practices – including aesthetics, intuitiveness and manufacturability.