Remember Your First Wallet?
In its current form, db clay is a creative research lab seeking to study human behavior, perceptions, patterns and preferences, with a stated purpose of reimagining the wallet experience. Unearthing stories of the past, a level-set on where we are today, and a casting of our minds to the future. A future where the definition of a “wallet” is given the breathing room to wander and unfold as boundlessly as our individual identities, personal journeys, and spectrum of life experiences.
Research Project Overview.
db clay, a product design and innovation company specializing in wallets, is preparing to relaunch following more than a decade of hibernation. Preparations for this old slumbering bear include dusting off the old brand, refreshing the old website, dialing-in the new marketing mix, concepting new product and serving offerings, and, in the process, redefining what a wallet can be. As you can imagine, the world has changed dramatically in the past 10+ years since we were last operating, and although wallets are a damn-near timeless product, a new world requires new thinking.
As part of this relaunch exercise, we’re conducting a qualitative research study to gut check initial ideas, by having conversations and gathering feedback from real people. All of which will inform the design and development of db clay’s new line of wallets — or whatever else we dream up. The following provides an overview of how we’re approaching this research sprint, noting this is the first of many efforts to come. Above all, our hope is to garner insights that lead to action. And of course, have some funnnn.
Key Objectives.
We are wildly open-minded researchers but we do aim to hit specific marks, including but not limited to:
Understanding perceptions of the “wallet” — past, present, and future.
Digging into use cases/behaviors, for both physical and digital wallets.
Unpacking barriers to digital wallet adoption, including the why if not.
Benchmarking the wallet category, from low cost to luxury brands alike.
Identifying gaps, pain points, illuminating white spaces, opportunities.
Unearthing human stories to inspire future content creation.
Stress-testing the notion, your wallet is a portal into your life itself.
Story Finding.
“Target Customer” doesn’t strike the right tone here, as our goal is to connect with real people and have real conversations and find real stories that can help us redefine what a wallet can—and should—provide. To that end, we plan to speak with a wide spectrum of individuals, to ensure representation, divergent thinking, and to tap into different cross-sections of culture. With these conversations, our hope is to uncover stories beyond the wallet itself—seeking relevant truths abstracted from the object. From a participant recruitment standpoint, here’s a high-level spectrum of who we aim to speak with:
Curious mindset that allows for free thinking—regardless of age.
Gender agnostic, connecting with a range of identities.
Expressive style, self-defining fashion sense, appreciation of quality.
Appreciation for art, photography, and other creative mediums.
People interested in this process, and the potential for co-creation.
A mix of pro-crypto, anti-crypto, and everywhere in between.
All tiers of education re: Web3 (i.e. Crypto, Blockchain, NFTs, AI, etc.).
Wallet “thought leaders”—experts already operating in the space.
A mix of folks familiar with the old db clay and also net new to brand.
Discussion Guide.
Exploring the “future of wallets” will bring unique challenges—especially given the preconceived notions of a wallet today, as a thing that simply goes in your pocket and/or is installed on your phone. The way we engage people, the questions we ask, and how we provide context will hopefully ensure a naturally flowing stream of honest thoughts. As we dig into these chats around people’s beliefs, values, and patterns related to their wallets, and the role they play in people’s lives, we’ll provide a series of prompts, for example:
How would you define the word/term “wallet?”
What kind of wallet do you carry now and why? Show and tell.
Do you remember your first wallet in life? Where did you get it?
What items did you used to carry in your wallet that now live on your phone?
What brands do you associate with wallets? Physical or digital.
Do you own any crypto/digital assets? If not, what is your biggest hurdle?
When buying a wallet, what matters most (i.e. sustainability, cost, etc.)?
Beyond your wallet, what other “tools” do you use to organize your life?
Where do you think the wallet will be 1, 5, 10 years from now?
And more…
Knowledge Base.
Prior to embarking on research, we’ll tap into our existing knowledge base and the cultural zeitgeist at large to get our bearings. As you can expect, a tremendous amount of existing “literature” exists on the topic today—articles, podcasts, industry reports, and other relevant sources abound. Many of which we digest daily. For example, this article calls for STOP CALLING IT A WALLET. This podcast forebodes the impending WALLET WARS. And the diagram below shows just how bananas the market is. Frankly, the current landscape is quite daunting.
Beyond this “desk research” as an input, we will tap into our 25 years of experience thinking and talking about wallets. For example, back in the day db clay spent many years selling wallets at street markets. db clay’s founder made ~30,000 wallets personally by hand, we did trunk shows at top-tier retailers like Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman, attended several dozen fashion tradeshows, taught college classes, and poured that information and experience back into the brand. The historical knowledge that is filed away in the animal brain of db clay will augment new/fresh thinking as we look at modern trends, cultural shifts, and best of all, hear wallet stories firsthand from people.
Strategic Approach.
Having worked at various design and innovation consultancies over the past decade (while the old db clay was on ice), we were exposed to a variety of research methods from many colleagues much smarter than us. For this study, we will attempt to make them proud as we conduct a qualitative study augmented with quantitative data collection methods. As with all research projects, designing the study properly is critical to maximizing the energy spent and to garner the best results. That said, here’s what we’re thinking in terms of approach for this initial research sprint:
PHASE 1: GOING WITH GUT (HYPOTHESIS)
PHASE 2: DIGGING EVEN DEEPER (RESEARCH)
PHASE 3: CONNECTING THE DOTS (SYNTHESIS)
PHASE 4: PUTTING INTO PRACTICE (ACTION)
We’re approaching each phase with an open mind and adaptable approach. The following phase breakdowns are less of a prescriptive or exhaustive play-by-play and more of a series of actionable guidelines. In other words, we’re learning as we learn, and will adjust our processes as we dig into discovery. After all, we don’t yet know what we don’t know, so we’re committing ourselves to jumping in with fresh eyes and ears.
PHASE 1: GOING WITH GUT (HYPOTHESIS)
This first phase is foundational, to ensure our ship is pointed in the right direction. In addition to the thoughts shared above, we will likely bounce this approach off a few trusted experts in our network to ensure our methods are sound, with the goal of poking holes, additive thinking, and to teach this old dog any relevant new tricks. This, combined with our trusty gut instincts, should be enough to get started.
PHASE 1 activities will commence by finalizing our research plan—consolidating and streamlining the above strategy. We’ll then conduct a sort of “dress rehearsal,” a pre-research phase in which we reach out to (3–4) trusted people to help prepare thoughtful discussion guides that can be tailored to each individual. This will help us create iterative research tools and stimuli to guide the 1:1 conversations yet to come. Once we conduct pre-research interviews, we’ll rapidly synthesize feedback and refine until we have a solid “future of the wallet” hypothesis to stress test in the next phase. From there, we’ll schedule proper research sessions with (8–12) individuals to begin.
PHASE 2: DIGGING EVEN DEEPER (RESEARCH)
This next phase is an opportunity to dive deep—leveraging learnings from the past 25 years, but also to come at this challenge with fresh eyes. This will provide an opportunity to explore, to co-create, to understand the functional and emotional benefits begging to be served. This will be an iterative process, each conversation will inform the next, the insights will compound.
We’ll kick off PHASE 2 by sending a “one pager” via email to give selected interviewees context for their session, instructing folks to bring their wallets/everyday carry/favorite accessories/etc., and ask them to share their crypto wallets too, if applicable. Once interviewees are briefed and interviews are scheduled, we’ll conduct 1-hour interviews IRL or URL (ideally IRL) in which we drill into both positive and negative perceptions, and abstractly discuss relationships, connotations, and reactions to wallets. The goal is to talk openly, listen deeply, take pictures, and compile copious notes.
PHASE 3: CONNECTING THE DOTS (SYNTHESIS)
This is the phase where all of the research—both primary and secondary—come together. Research findings will be packaged up in a deck, including supporting data, charts, and/or frameworks. Patterns will be identified and themes extracted, all of which will inform a refined hypothesis that provides a jumping off point for implementation in the next phase.
The first step in PHASE 3 will be transcribing discussion notes and organizing the information, which will allow us to quickly identify key themes and insights across the body of conversations. We’ll also use this phase to highlight interesting human stories, flagging these for potential followup conversations to help fuel additional projects. As an example, we’ll center these stories to build out 1-page “film scripts” as a prototype for a human storytelling content series concept. Finally, we’ll wrap up this phase by drafting a research report that summarizes findings, insights, and recommendations that we’ll then post on our Substack/website for visibility.
PHASE 4: PUTTING INTO PRACTICE (ACTION)
This phase is where insights bleed into action, albeit early in the process. This is the moment to reflect on the implications of the findings and how they might translate to the design of the product, including any changes to be made to future product roadmap. Additionally, we’ll consider the limitations of the study and identify areas for further research.
Our final phase will start with a worksession involving the core team, including our brand designer. Next, we’ll translate insights into concepts with our (physical) product designer, and sequence an optimal user journey with our (digital) product designer. We’ll also build out our brand storytelling, perhaps even creating a pilot episode for our branded content series with a small filmmaking team. Once concepts have been sketched, we’ll circle back with participants to fill in gaps or flesh out stories if needed. Like each of our phases, this one will be iterative: we’ll crystalize all of the above into a concrete action plan.
A Look Ahead.
Ok, that’s it for now. Time to get going. We look forward to sharing our findings in the coming weeks and months for this initial research sprint and others to follow. In the meantime, thank you for being a part of this journey. As always, all feedback, questions, and suggestions are welcome.
Wish us luck! ✌️
