Stance Socks - Strider Innovation Program on Behance

Team Credits: Anja Botnen, Aya Al Bawwab, Carla Marsh, Dara Weiss

Challenge
In this project, the team was required to design an innovation program that embeds new innovative practices within the existing environment of a company of the team’s choice.

Outcome
The company that the team chose to focus on was Stance, an American fashion sock company that embraces the spirit of individuality through a unique product offering featuring artists series and performance socks.

The innovation program which the team came up with is called Stride. The aim of Stride is to transform Stance from a fashion sock company into a healthcare data collection company by incorporating advanced computer and electronic medical and fitness tracking technologies into Stance socks.

With the right technologies, Stance smart socks can analyze the users’ foot sweat and detect the body’s nutrient levels. For example, Stance smart socks will be able to tell how much Iron an athlete lost, so that they can nourish their body with the right amount of supplements after a workout.

Big data companies can also benefit from the proposed smart sock design by analyzing the data collected from Stance tech socks and utilizing it to learn more about healthcare-related issues.

How Stride Socks Work

Stride Stance sock architecture (1 of 5)

Stride Stance sock architecture (2 of 5)

Stride Stance sock architecture (3 of 5)

Stride Stance sock architecture (4 of 5)

Stride Stance sock architecture (5 of 5)

Changing Landscapes & Trends

Smart Fabrics

The largest and fastest growing category is smart garments. For example, OMSignal designs technology-enabled shirt and bras, which monitor heart rate, breathing and stress. Featured at the US Open Tennis Championships in 2014.

Wearable Tech

The attraction of wireless tech wearables is on the rise, i.e. Apple Watch and Fitbit. As wearable technology continues to evolve to meet consumer needs, the technology becomes more accessible and popular amongst many different demographics.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing fosters business agility through the collection & analysis of big data, which in turn can be used to understand changing customer demands and industry trends.

Sustainability

With the rise of sustainability awareness, consumers are turning to more sustainable options that have a positive impact on the environment, but also on their society and local economy. The textile industry is looking to green-ify natural and synthetic fibers

Sharing Economy

Companies are working to bring business and society back together by redefining their purpose & establishing partnerships to create a shared economic value.

User Profiles & Stories

Eric, NBA player

Persona:

Eric is a 27-year-old NBA player living in upper East Side Manhattan. He uses all of his time training and traveling for games. He follows a special diet and has to constantly make sure that he is taking the right amount of supplements to stay fit, energetic, and strong.

Pain Points & Motivations:

Eric is interested in a tech wearable that he is allowed to use on the court -- wristbands are not permissible during games! He wants to control and improve his performance. Eric also suffers from painful cramps after an official game, so Stance tech socks would help him know what his body is lacking so that he could nourish his body with the right supplements.

Sarah, diabetic child

Persona:

Sarah is a 7-year-old child who has recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Sarah enjoys a very active life at school: she is a member of her school’s dance and music club. During the weekend, her father teaches her how to horseback ride.

Pain Points & Motivations:

Sarah’s parents have to monitor her blood sugar level every day using the finger prick test, which Sarah finds painful. They’re worried that her experience will affect her emotionally in the long run.

With Stance’s tech socks, Sarah’s parents could keep an eye on her blood sugar level even while she’s away from home. They could change Sarah’s daily encounter with her medical condition from one that is painful to one that is more fun; Sarah could choose from Stance’s wide range of super cool and fashionable designs, while also staying healthy.

Emma, Elderly person

Persona:

Emma is a grandmother living in Palm Beach, Florida. Her husband passed away just last year, but she does not want to move back to Detroit, Michigan, where her children live because she loves the weather in Palm Beach and has so many friends that live in her apartment building there. Emma enjoys an active life. She likes to take long afternoon walks with her friends. Every Tuesday, she has Bingo night and plays cards with them too.

Pain Points & Motivations:

Emma’s children are always worried about her being all the way in Florida by herself as she is getting older. There is nobody to take care of her when she’s on her own. In order to convince her kids to let her stay in Florida, Emma could use Stance’s tech socks so that her children can track her health from afar and make sure that she is doing okay at all times. With Stance’s cool designs, Emma could also punch up her style and look younger.

Dennis, Health-care analyst

Persona:

Dennis lives in Chicago with his wife and two children. He works at Watson Health, a data analytics department within IBM which focuses on analyzing healthcare data to help them develop solutions, medications, and cures.

Pain Points & Motivations:

Even in today’s world of big data, Dennis has always wished that he could access even more data so that he could better understand many health issues. He is thrilled to be partnering with Stride because now he will have so much more day to day data from such a large variety of people to analyze. He hopes to be able to solve large over-arching health care questions and unknowns with this new insightful data.

Stride Innovation Program