Today I continue my end of the week series on creativity formation in the Austin bitcoin scene. This will be altered concepts I have been pulling from for different projects. My hope is some Plebs here in Austin will start creating more. We definitely need more creatives in the Austin bitcoin scene.

Satoshi Pocket

Usually with most product designers, the concept starts with a sketch (either pen or pencil on paper for me its in a graphics application), which is then refined over time. Following that, there is an evaluation of potential materials and methods, this goes back to my days in art school. I lean heavy into; music, sci fi, anime, 80's culture, art-house film, shoe culture and typography.

This idea has been in my head for a long time but didn't actually create this mockup until last year. I personally think its an interesting direction for a hardware wallet. At this point in my life I am far too busy to create it.

The idea is simple...kinda.

Features:

Fully Portable Lightning Wallet NFC for tap to pay and camera to scan qr codes
Optional Non-custodial Lightning client & hub that enables seamless bitcoin payments.
Built in App Store: Stacker.News, Satoshi Games, Lightning Podcasts built in. More developers would look to build on it. Especially if they were paid in Sats.
Analog Headphone Jack
4G/LTE/Wifi Modem like Librem 5 USA with Killswitch Librem AweSIM Going the MVNO route...or built in mesh networking?

Names:

Bitcoin Pocket
Satoshi Pocket
Lightning Pocket

Satoshi Pocket Purpose:

Care in design would be key. Industrial design studies function and form—and the connection between product, user, and environment. Typically design is the process of taking something from its existing state and moving it to a preferred state. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder unless you are creating an emotional attachment.

Function would be the primary focus in this design.

You would need to say NO a lot. Is a keyboard really needed? Do you need NFC? Do you need Bluetooth? Are you able to stay focused on just getting payments working on this lightning wallet?

Typically when myself and the crew at Pleb Lab are designing; conversations become ideas and sometimes they lead to dead ends. Going down dead ends are a great thing creatively. These conversations lead to great design which helps and make the product understandable. Always marching towards the primary focus in that particular niche for that particular product. Staying the course is key in design.

Why this design?

The nostalgic gameboy feeling is purposeful. Thinking around the product design conceptually means you have to start to create something that evokes emotion. Obviously Bitcoin promotes freedom and self sovereignty but it's actually something way more than this because it’s a technology that fundamentally has changed the way we view money and transact with each other. It’s a paradigm shift for humanity and that scares most people not in bitcoin to their bones and few people understand this. So when designing a product around something like this you cannot look to your peers because it's obvious to me they are creating devices that are informing and re-affirming to themselves. Which is perfectly fine. I love and use them. But to have a cultural impact you have to go beyond the norm and build the product with hope, warm, comforting feelings this will help make people feel better about the daunting present and uncertain future bitcoin represents to them. One immediate way to do this is by designing key elements to produce a nostalgic feeling. Nostalgia makes people more susceptible to feeling emotional about brands. Campaigns that reference the past can evoke a relationship, a latent bond that ties childhood to adulthood through products. It evokes feelings of security, comfort, and trust, leading people to have more confidence in the brand its associated with.

Staying away from the directional pad is key. The speaker grill could be moved or changed to the corner. I guess you could add a keyboard. I showed it without a keyboard but it could be either sliding from the underside or directly on top. Casing would be translucency black or a different set of colors completely. Gold casing could be a special edition that only a few get for marketing purposes. I would expect you to send out to prominent YouTubers, artists & musicians.

Why make Satoshi Pocket?

Apple, Google and Microsoft will always guard these silicon walls on their phones. They will only come in once we have proof of concept and viability. It’s time to move away from these devices and move Bitcoin towards the future and that’s Lightning. Everyone will always go the route of cellphones and web wallets thats low hanging fruit. I am still learning. This is true. I am a young bitcoiner but my understanding is that security has to be built from the ground up and that requires you to have a solid foundation. That only starts with starting from scratch and sourcing each chip. Also the devs would love a device to call their own...let's do it for them.