Aliph JawBone
The Best Gets Better
It goes without saying that consumer electronics companies are inherently focused on the latest in new technology. But ‘hi tech’ is only part of what drives Silicon Valley’s Aliph Jawbone, a leader in personal communication accessories.
In 2006, Aliph introduced Jawbone as a sleek looking earpiece with NoiseAssassin™ technology, and the brand has since brought a new dimension to the mobile headset world.
“From an aesthetic and ergonomic point of view, it's a lot like jewelry,” says Aliph founder and CEO, Hosain Rahman, “but you get a functional benefit – the ability to communicate in noisy places when you're mobile.”
Jawbone’s latest rendition, the Icon, is available in six different ‘character’ shields with names like ‘hero’, ‘bombshell’ and ‘ace’.
“When you wear something on your ear, it's very much a reflection of your personality,” says Yves Béhar, founder of San Francisco-based design firm, fuseproject.
Delivering the best experience to the customer at all levels is the Aliph Jawbone mantra.
“Environmental responsibility is part of the equation, says Rahman. “And that starts with how you lay out your circuits to how you show the product on the shelf at packaging.”
Right down to Jawbone’s unique ‘museum-like’ display.
So for the Icon line, the company decided to make a good thing better by heeding consumers’ call for sustainable products and adapting with new styles and materials.
The goal was to significantly reduce the amount of plastic and to use the most recyclable plastic.
“The challenge with packaging is to do the most with the least – to have the most effect, to create the most compelling experience with the least amount of material,” says Béhar.
“So we invented a way for the window into the product to be much smaller and to attach to a cardboard substructure. Making things that are structural out of paper and plastic assembled together is a gigantic challenge, but we have a box that still sells well and is a big improvement from an environmental standpoint.”
“The materials have to push the boundaries of what's possible,” Béhar explains. “When we decided to go away from polycarbonate, which has the advantage to be extremely clear, we worked closely with Eastman to use a material that would give us the clarity and also the capability of manufacturing the square design.”
Inspired by a medical syringe made from Eastman Eastar™ copolyester, fuseproject designers were able to achieve a near zero degree draft angle in the side walls of the new pack, reducing the amount of plastic by 68 percent from the original Jawbone pack.
“We're very excited to reduce our plastic footprint while maintaining that same premium, quality feel,” adds Rahman. “This was an incredible challenge, and we're quite pleased to be able to deliver this level of clarity while really staying true to what the brand is all about.”