by Mikalee Williams
12th Grade at Belleview High School (Belleview, FL)
Second Place
In Willis-Carrier High School’s locker room, the girl’s basketball team prepared for practice. Tossing cans of body mist and shooting hair ties to each other, the teammates debated what to expect from this year’s season. Dixie leaned against the wall, excusing herself from the discussion to text her mom. “I’ll go to the dentist appointment after practice. What’s the address?” she texted.
The red battery icon in the corner caught her attention before she powered off her phone. Normally, her battery percentage would not matter, but since she would need to use her phone as a navigator to get to the dentist on time for the appointment, she needed to charge it.
Digging through her bag, she found her charger and plugged into the wall.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jasmine said. “Leaving your phone out like that...last season someone’s phone was stolen that way. Charge it in the gym so you can keep an eye on it.” Dixie nodded her thanks and rushed to charge her phone in the gym. With her phone charging, she was ready to begin practice when coach blew the whistle.
The team warmed up by running laps around the basketball court. As the team passed the outlet that charged Dixie’s phone, she realized her phone was laying where it could be stepped on. She imagined her parents’ reaction if her expensive smartphone was broken. The repairs cost hundreds of dollars, money she would rather spend on college rather than repairing her phone.
Dixie stepped to the side, allowing her teammates to continue without her as she considered her options. She decided to balance her phone on top of the charger head, keeping it off the ground. She considered the phone safe so she rejoined her team’s warm ups.
During the lap, she scanned the gym’s walls in search for a better outlet, but there was no outlet in any better location. All of the outlets left her phone exposed to her teammates’ workouts. Dixie glanced at her phone’s position when she passed it again. To her disappointment, the charger head was sloping downward and her phone was beginning to slide downward. She caught the phone before it cracked on the floor and decided it was not worth the risk. She zipped it away in her bag, deciding from the time it had to charge, it could get her to the dentist.
Dixie didn’t think about the issue she had with needing a better solution until a basketball game she had a few days later. Someone charged their phone in the outlet, leaving the phone screen exposed to the mercy of the passersby. All it would take is one misstep to cost the phone owner hundreds of dollars. The next day, she noticed the same issue in a classroom. As she thought about this issue, she realized all smartphone users had this problem at one point or another. People in workspaces, airports, public spaces...everywhere and anywhere someone had a smartphone, those phones need charging. They needed a secure area to charge. Dixie sought to create a solution.
She drew out several ideas of what the solution could be. The first one was a charger head with a stopper that would prevent the phone from slipping off it. She considered how much time she had. With a basketball season ahead of her and several advanced classes, she did not have time to learn how to design a charger head.
Her next idea was a hanger that would be made of plastic. This hanger would hang from the charger head, carrying the phone. But, not only did Dixie not have time to learn how to make something like this, this hanger would not be a one-size-fits-all.
Then, she considered a pouch that would hang from the charger head like the hanger idea did, but the phone would be in the pouch. The more she researched, the more she realized how outstanding this option was. This pouch would be made of fabric, and microfiber is a fabric that can wipe grime and fingerprints off glass. If this bag were microfiber, it could double as a screen wipe. If this bag could hold the charger, it could triple as a charger bag. If this bag were dimensioned correctly, it could be a onesize- fits-all. Dixie concluded making a pouch was clearly the best way to go. She had the skills and materials to create the project.
Dixie drafted her design. It was a simple design, resembling a sock with a hole that allowed it to hang from the charger head. She decided to base the dimensions so they would fit her phone. From her research, her phone was the biggest on the market. Additionally, her case was large, so if the pouch could fit her phone, it was a one-size-fits-all.
She presented her design to her mother, an experienced seamstress. Her mother advised her against using microfiber cloth because its slinky nature makes it difficult to sew. She recommended using a different fabric.
Her mother took her to the fabric store to pick out an ideal fabric. They decided on a fabric that had a similar texture to microfiber, but less stretchy, allowing for an easier sew.
Dixie sought advice from her teachers. She wanted to ensure her design’s success before using her materials. One teacher pointed out the flaw in her dimensions. Though it would fit her phone, if accounting for the length of the charger input that plugged into the phone, there was not enough room. The sharp angle would damage the cord, resulting in a faulty charger after continuous usage. Taking this criticism into account, Dixie increased the length of the pouch.
Satisfied with the dimensions of her project, Dixie familiarized herself with using a sewing machine. After a few videos, she felt confident in her ability to assemble the piece. Using the information she learned from the videos, she chalked out the desired shape from the fabric. She used the techniques from the videos to oil and prepare and use her sewing machine. In the end, she succeeded in bringing her idea to life.
She brought her final product to school so the teachers could examine the result. One teacher pointed how difficult it was to access the phone. The charger had to be unplugged in order to access the phone. Another teacher brought up the issue of the older phones. Some phones overheat when they are charging, posing a threat to itself if it is unable to ventilate the heat. The thick fabric of the assembly would act as an insulator, endangering the phone. Another issue brought up was the possibility of this product being used on a sparking outlet or faulty charger head.
Dixie easily fixed the accessibility problem by redesigning it to be less of a purse and more of a door hanger with a pocket. To consider the fire and ventilation hazard, she visited her local fire station. The firemen were interested in her concerns of the product and recommended nomex, the material their suits were made of that made them fireproof. After discussion, Dixie asked if netting would enable to phone to vent out its heat. The firefighters nodded in agreement.
Redesigning the shape and material of the product, she designed the top to be made of nomex and the bottom to be ventilating netting.
From then on, she used her product. Her teammates inquired about it, asking where she bought it. Her teachers were impressed and proud, happy to have contributed to the success of the pouch. Dixie beamed as she reflected back on her project, proud of bringing a concept to life.
Annotated Bibliography
“Introduction to Engineering Drawing and Design”
Madsen, David A. Engineering Drawing and Design, 3rd ed., Delmar, 2002, pp. 15–19
This source described how engineers would draft their ideas on paper. This contributed to why I chose to draw out the designs and why Dixie would draw her idea before making it.
“Five Steps To Develop A New Product”
Manuel de Toro, Juan. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 June 2016,
Through this article, I learned more about what people are looking for in a product. It reviews the engineering process in a more manufacturer way in which profit is sought over functionality of the product.
“What Is Product Development (New Product Development, or NPD)? Definition from WhatIs.com.”
Rouse, Margaret. SearchCIO, TechTarget, June 2006,
This source brought multiple perspectives to my attention. Because of this, I decided Dixie should ask her teachers (experienced adults) for advice and their input.
“The Engineering Design Process.”
Schertz, Karen A. Engineering Drawing and Design, 3rd ed., Delmar, 2002, pp. 136–141.
This source focused on the engineering design process, differing from the others as it focused on solid things made of plastic and metal rather than fabric. Out of this source, I learned how costs of production could be lessened while improving the product. This was taken into account when the product was redesigned to be more accessible by reducing the amount of fabric and enabling easier access of the phone. Additionally, netting would add ventilation to the product and be a cheaper material than the solid fabric.