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BEHIND THE DESIGN OF PLAYR SMART COACH WITH CEO BENOIT SIMERAY

BEHIND THE DESIGN OF PLAYR SMART COACH WITH CEO BENOIT SIMERAY

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Jon Jenks0

At KTTP we are obsessed with design and the process of design. We are fascinated by the stories behind the products we use and the stories they communicate to the user. That is why we were drawn to PLAYR. 

PLAYR is a tech vest and pod that tracks speed, distance, sprints and heat maps. The focus of the product is solely on the pitch and performance-based and the potential of wearables to impact the game is enormous.  We will leave the analysis of how smart tech is changing football to those more qualified than ourselves. We did, however, get the opportunity to chat with Benoit Simeray the CEO Consumer at Catapult, about the design process of PLAYR. 

One of the first things you notice about the PLAYR vest is the sleek design—no buttons, no visible outlets or charging chords. That was no accident, a lot of thought went into the crafting of the vest. 

“We had to questions those things. Why do we have a button? What is the value of having a button?…what is the value of the vest? How do we approach the smart vest in a different way then we have been doing for the last 10 or 20 years…Why not wireless charging? Could we not use the vest to activate the pod, to turn it on? And to autodetect when you actually started to move? So there is a magnet in the pocket of the vest that signal(s) the pod to turn on.”

The result of asking those questions is a sleek and seamless piece of technology that looks great. The design of the product was shaped by four defining principles, Benoit explained. First, needed to be the highest quality. It needed to perform at a high level. It needed to be what Benoit calls, “frictionless.” 

“So it was [more than] just high quality and high performance it was [about being] frictionless in all aspects. That’s the third pillar. It’s got to be very easy to unbox, to set up, to upgrade, to use, and then to upload the session.

“And then the fourth thing—it’s got to be beautiful. It’s very simple, but for me, it is fundamental that anything that we are doing at Catapult has to be design led…Not just the way the product looks it’s the way our products interact with our customers.”

The simple and elegant design and packaging is a visual manifestation of the seamless and efficient product and user experience. “We massively enjoyed the creation of that beautiful project… The product is not just the vest. It’s the pod, it’s the vest, and it’s the software—where the user is spending 90 percent of their interaction time…frictionless and beautiful…”

Benoit and Catapult were very conscious in their design choices for the product, the packaging and the story they tell in their online messaging. 

“PLAYR is not for every soccer player. It’s for players who are really serious about…their game and who are willing to enhance their performances and get a competitive edge [over] the other team and the other players. And that’s fundamentally all we are after.”

Through the use of colors and selective imagery PLAYR is looking to hone in on their target audience: “the high working, high performer who has this passion [for the game] That is why we chose [certain] colors…electric blue…a strong pink. We also worked a lot around [the idea] of electricity—that electric, dynamic player. The [building] of a human machine. All of that [fed] the art direction.”

The idea of PLAYR being for the select few, those who are passionate about getting better is an idea that Simeray elaborated on. 

The [people] that are buying PLAYR are adapters, they are opinion shapers. opinion leaders. They have an edge on the rest of the population. They innovate and they…embrace new technology. 

“In sports today talent is important but it’s not everything. It’s the preparation, it’s the constant performance. Those players, that’s what they have…We are after those…leaders…who are showing the way to the rest of the team.”

Those individuals who are leaders and opinion shapers should be excited about PLAYR’s future plans to add more customizability and more design choices in the near future. 

“We are investing [significant amount] into research and development to make it the best performing…smart vest in terms of ability…but also the most appealing and distinctive because this is actually what you wear and this is how you express…your personality…from when you wear it on top of your team jersey during training but also when you wear it underneath your team [shirt] and remove it when you score a goal. This is an expression of who you are. We are looking into…limited editions…and not [just] colors, different fabrics, different shapes…it could be also on-demand printing…the ability to customize and tailor-make your own design so that this is an expression of who you are…we definitely have some things in the pipeline, making sure that each and every system can be tailor-made to your needs and your personality or the message that you’re willing to spread.”

PLAYR’s message is clear. They are serious about quality and performance and it is reflected in every detail. From the product itself to the packaging and even down to the Instagram pics. They are about high quality and performing at a high level all while looking good. 

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