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Contact UsNorthern design agency npd (North Product Design) recently worked on a major project for lone worker app Safepoint to create Callie, a personal safety bracelet which houses a smart panic alarm inside a piece of jewellery.
When the bracelet is firmly pressed, it sends out an alarm (via a call-out service) to loved ones to alert them of the user being in a potentially dangerous situation. The bracelet can also provide an exact GPS location to emergency services.
The team worked closely with Safepoint to produce the safety wearable advice - although the brand admits it’s a product they didn’t want to make, for one key reason.
We had a chat with npd’s design director, Nathan Partington, to find out why and how they worked closely with Safepoint to create Callie.
How did the relationship between npd/Safepoint emerge to work on Callie and where did the idea for Callie come from?
Our relationship with Safepoint started back in November 2021 when they reached out to us after having seen our work. We immediately recognised the potential of a collaboration. From our side, we knew Safepoint's product idea was an exciting one and one which we could be passionate about. From Safepoint's perspective, they knew we had the skills, commitment, experience and connections with the UK supply chain to deliver the solution we were both looking for.
Safepoint already had a successful business providing personal protection for lone workers in an industrial environment and they saw an opportunity to develop a consumer based solution.
Their motivation was sparked after the shocking case of Sarah Everard's murder which gave them the idea for an everyday, wearable item that would leverage their 24/7 support capabilities and provide young people with a silent, discreet, yet beautiful, advanced panic alarm.
Can you tell us a little about the project - the positives, the challenges, the design process and what you were hoping to achieve?
npd loved this project. There are so many positives to discuss. Ultimately, we were successful in the creation of a product that was better than we ever expected it to be. The attractive and wearable device does not look like a piece of technology - it is a beautiful piece of jewellery.
Customers are able to customise their bracelet with a range of colours and materials, again adding to the appeal of the product. The project certainly had its challenges. To miniaturise a complex piece of technology into a small and beautiful package was difficult. The npd team went through over 70 iterations of the product to achieve the right combination of performance, size and aesthetics - we got it right... It looks awesome and performs brilliantly. We were able to work through so many iterations because of our in-house prototyping and 3D printing facilities.
As with every project we work on, we hope to assist our client in achieving their visions for the product and their business goals. We also place a heavy emphasis on designing and developing products that we know will do good ... Callie will do a lot of good.
What makes Callie stand out as a product?
Safepoint openly admits that Callie is a product they didn't want to make. They believe that nobody should feel the need to buy a product to live their life with confidence but this would be a perfect world. Their goal is to empower people to live the lives they want to live, feeling safe and confident. With Callie, people can now do this with a beautiful piece of jewellery.
Finally, do you have any advice for marketers or agencies working with a brand?
It's quite simple - understand the brand's business model and how they want to make money, understand their customer and who they want to appeal to and understand what is important to them.
On working with npd to build a product, Callum Coombes, CEO of Callie and co-founder at Safepoint, said: "Building a product isn't easy. It's taken two years of challenging research, development and testing to get Callie where it is today, but I can wholeheartedly say that it would have been significantly harder without the support and expertise of NPD. Nathan and his colleagues are a pleasure to work with and are one of the rare agencies that truly feel like an extension of our team. I wouldn't hesitate to work with them again in the future.”
"With NPD's support, Callie is now one of the fastest-growing personal safety platforms in the UK. We've also recently partnered with global security giants, ADT, to help us more actively protect our users and we have a number of exciting further partnerships in the works. 2024 looks to be a great year for Callie!"