Boys Club Biometric Wearables Concept Collection
A Concept Collection for an Internet Community
Exploring form-factor and style alternatives to connected wearables like the Oura ring for Boys Club—an online/offline community of smart dumb people interested in emerging technology and internet culture.
Vital Statistics
3 weeks, January 2025
Role: Industrial Design
Background: The Data Manifesto
Boys Club worked with Privado.iD co-founder, Evin McMullen, to explore the future of biometric wearables.
In The Data Manifesto, Evin underscores that the future of connected devices will put an end to data-farming by corporations, instead prioritizing privacy in the delivery of recommendations and self-knowledge to individuals using wearable technology.
Evin McMullen (@provenauthority on X) is a vocal proponent of blockchain enabled privacy solutions. Privado.iD establishes a Unified Identity layer that emphasizes privacy, user control, and interoperability, to lower the cost of trust across industries and revolutionize how individuals and organizations interact in connected spaces.
Extrapolating on this... how might wearable tech form factors better reflect individual style and aesthetics in a future where Moore's Law brings us smaller and faster component parts that liberate us from chunky circuitboards?
Research
I started by looking at the smallest wearable product on the consumer market today—the Oura Ring—to get a sense of required components. I also looked at facial anatomy to understand what jewelry types might be appropriate to take a pulse from facial blood vessels, and where they would have to be placed.
The nasal septum, helix and ear lobe, and lip seemed most feasible, so proposals were designed for these 3 areas.
Form Exploration
I examined how septum rings, ear cuffs, and grill/tooth jewelry are secured in place, finding opportunities where sensors could make contact with the skin and measure blood flow underneath. Sketching directly on top of faces helped me to consider the broad variations in facial features before moving into Rhino3D.
Final Designs
For its lightweight and hypoallergenic properties, platinum was chosen to make up the body of the jewelry, and encase the sensors and circuitry.
Ear Cuff
Ear Cuff sits on the wearer’s ear of choice. Interior LEDs rest against the inner and outer helix, and use PPG sensor technology to measure blood flow in the ear. Ear Cuff houses an accelerometer and temperature sensor, providing accurate and continuous biometrics data.
Dimensions: 5.8mm w x 10.7mm h x 6.1mm d
Features: 2 LEDs, accelerometer, temperature sensor
Materials: Platinum cuff and sensor encasement
*This is a conceptual product
Tooth Cap
Tooth Cap sits on the wearer’s left canine. A formed sensor bar rests above on the upper gum, and uses PPG sensor technology to measures blood flow in the upper lip. Sensor bar houses an accelerometer and temperature sensor, providing accurate and constant biometric data.
Dimensions: 8.6mm w x 12.2mm h
Features: 1 LED, accelerometer, temperature sensor
Materials: Platinum tooth cap and sensor bar
*This is a conceptual product
Septum Ring
Septum Ring sits inside the wearer’s nose. Sensor bars make contact on both sides of the nasal septum, and use PPG sensor technology to measure blood flow. In addition to red and green LEDs, sensor bars house an accelerometer and temperature sensor, providing accurate and continuous biometric data.
Dimensions: 16 gauge, 10.8mm w x 12.5mm h
Features: 2 LEDs, accelerometer, temperature sensor
Materials: Platinum septum ring and sensor bars
*This is a conceptual product
Collection Drop
The collection was dropped on X on Feb 6th, 2025, and got 8,800 views. The full deck with Evin's Data Manifesto is available to click through below:
