Knuckies
Knuckies is a phone handle that started with a question nobody selling phone accessories wanted to ask: why do we replace a working phone every two years, and what does a dropped screen have to do with it?
- Product Design
Knuckies is a phone handle that started with a question nobody selling phone accessories wanted to ask: why do we replace a working phone every two years, and what does a dropped screen have to do with it? Michael and his partners designed a 3D printed ring you stick on the back with 3M adhesive, grip with two fingers, and stand at 60 degrees.
What was wrong with the alternatives
Collapsible stands collect pocket lint, wobble on a table, and wear out at the hinge. Most of them add bulk without changing how you hold the phone.
The design
Rounded finger rings sized for long use, contoured at the base so the edge does not bite. Two rings arch off the back to make a tripod, which holds the phone taller and steadier than a single collapsing puck. A hook lets it ride on a pocket or a lanyard.
Eighty-two prototypes to get there. The first model ran on a real bearing, four years before fidget spinners made that a category, and the spin later moved into a printed hinge so nothing has to be assembled.
Made on demand
The file lives on Shapeways for print-on-demand and on Cults3D for anyone who wants to print and remix it. 3D Printing Industry and Sculpteo covered it. A phone accessory that ships as a file has no warehouse, no shipping container, and no dead stock.
The variants
Anchors, loops, lollipops, mop Ts, and a cat, made so people could pick something that looked like them. The Black Anchor Ring became the production design after user feedback.
Identity
The first trademark was a smiling face pulled from the outline of the bearing model. The current mark is the side silhouette of the ring holding the wordmark, leaning forward. Photography stays in motion: hands, bikes, phones mid-use.
Still going
Andrés Belisario prototyped a MagSafe version with a harder, future-punk edge. The product keeps arguing the same point: hold the thing better and you keep it longer.
Client: Self-initiated
Sector: Consumer products
Disciplines: Product design, photography, video
Team: Michael Luis Diaz, Emilio Lopez, Andrés Belisario
