Katapult
December 2020
The Katapult cardboard phone stand is made from inexpensive yet durable sheet based material. With the ability to be manufactured and sold for under 1 dollar, the consumer can enjoy the amusement of assembling the product and utilizing the extremely functional phone stand everyday.
Design Brief
Following the IKEA business model of producing modern products designed and shipped and manufactured inexpensively using flat sheet based materials. A phone stand designed for an iPhone 7 plus originally dictated the design, and with minor scaling the phone stand can be customized to work with any modern iPhone and certain android devices. This simple design incorporates a cardboard mechanism to alter the phone stand angle. The stand is designed to be assembled with limited steps including; creasing, folding and slotting together cardboard pieces. This allows us to avoid using glue and tape, and have a working stand with only cardboard and 1 elastic band.
Challenge
The phone stand must hold the phone 4 inches off the ground. This requirement is to make the phone stand more complex adding additional challenges to the design.
Mechanics
A single number 64 elastic band can used to fasten parts of the phone stands, add tension to the mechanism, and additional apply a small amount of friction to the back of the phone.
Accessibility
All buttons, and features of the phone must be accessible to the user in both orientations. This includes speakers, microphone, charging port, and cameras.
The Die Line
In order to save on cost, in mass production the phone stand is made from a single sheet of stiff 11x17 cardboard. The phone can be sold flat and assembled with a manual.
Download Die Line
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