Dangle Earring Traveling Case
Undergraduate Senior Project 2024
Problem Statement
Because jewelry travel cases rarely accommodate for long earring styles, traveling with them is inconvenient.
I damaged a pair of dangle earrings due to poorly packing them for travel, which made this project personally significant.
Product Proposal
A travel case specifically designed for long earrings that organizes, protects, and displays them.
Current Market Solutions
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Tiny Boxes
Hard to contain. Easy to loose. Cannot hold more than one pair or risk damage from movement.
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Tiny Bags
Hard to contain. Easy to loose. Lacks outward protection. Risks tangling and damage from movement.
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Common Travel Case
Attempts to accommodate too much jewelry. Largely suitable only for stud earrings. Risks damage from resting jewelry against other jewelry.
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Earring Travel Organizer
Risks damage from free movement of long earrings. Lacks protection from outward pressure. Creates internal pressure on earrings.
Although one can resort to various DIY solutions, they are often one-time solutions that only add to the inconvenience of packing earrings.
Target Market
Persons (ages 18-30) who own delicate, higher-end long earrings they desire to bring and wear on trips and are willing to spend up to $65 on a protective, convenient packing solution.
Product Parameters
When analyzing jewelry cases currently on the market, I found the most common weakness was that the cases tried to accommodate too many variables. With this insight, I narrowed the product's parameters in three specific areas:
The intended travel environment would be indoors (hotel, air B'n'B, etc.) and not outdoors (camping, etc.).
The maximum capacity would be a week's worth of earrings (5-7 pairs).
The individual earring dimensions would be limited to 3.5" in length, 1.5" in width, and 0.875" in depth.
Inside-out, Solution-focused Ideation
Physical Prototyping
was crucial to determining
the final design concept.
More so than any project I’d done before.
Design Concept
Much like a double-decker sandwich, the Dangle Earring Travel Case is a set of three units, each capable of containing two pairs of earrings (one on top, one on bottom).
Initial Prototype
Concept Refining
Building a full-part assembly in SOLIDWORKS created a starting point; however, upon sitting down to start a physical prototype with these plans, I quickly identified where I'd need to modify the design in areas that looked good on the computer but were nearly impossible to reproduce with the tools available to me and material I wished to use. The refining process became a dialogue between the physical and the digital, as the physical prototyping informed changes for the CAD model and visa versa.
Final Physical
Concept Prototype
Element Highlights
The cushion base provides the classic jewelry box feel, and the faux leather strip offers a place to hook the earring so it does not fall out upon opening.
A divider on the top half keeps the earrings separate so they do not damage each other and keeps the highly elastic film secure around each earring.
Magnets and a metal plate strengthen the flip clasp while not making it difficult to open.
Dangle Earring Travel Case
CAD Final Concept Model