Cardboard Prototype: Phone Mount for Bikes
One of the things I’ve been experimenting with is upcycling. I took some waxed cardboard to make a phone mount on my bike, which makes navigating and exploration a whole lot easier. After some testing, I realized this could be fun and interesting for any casual riders who can't justify spending so much on a phone mount for your bike (some case/mounts can cost up to $70). Now you can get the convenience of having GPS easily accessible while riding!
This cardboard mount has been working really well for me, to the point that I no longer plan on upgrading to a "real" mount anytime soon.
Materials
Cardboard. Since this is for outdoor use, waxed cardboard would be preferable.
Glue.
X-acto knife & Cutting mat.
Combination or variation of these: Rubber bands, twisty ties (like ones you can get from a bread bag), duct tape, shoe laces, binder clips, etc. Basically anything that can help you secure the phone mount to your bike.
Disclaimer: I recognize not everyone may have all of the initial materials that really make this easier, like an x-acto blade or a cutting mat. But don't be afraid to be creative; I actually only decided to use rubber bands because I had some laying around. Check out what materials you have and see what you can do!
End Result
Process
Quality
This is cardboard and isn't meant to last forever. However, it has actually survived some rain showers, summer heat/sun exposure, and a whole accident where a pedestrian crossed in front of me and I flipped over my handlebars. In that accident, my phone surprisingly stayed in the mount.
Warnings, Maintenance and "Upgrades"
It certainly HAS aged over the course of 200+ hours. My phone holder doesn't look like this anymore (I can post updated images later). I only used craft glue initially, so some of it started breaking apart after a lot of water and sun exposure. A lot of it is now held together with duct tape (which is awesome and will last a long time). I've also added some thin layers of glue to the cardboard so it would stay more water resistant.
Make sure to stay conservative and check on weak points. Duct tape will fix pretty much anything. I wouldn't test with a brand new phone unless I trusted it was very well protected by its case.
Once, because of the vibrations from a really bad road, the top layer of the mount split from the part that connects to the bike. The phone went flying, but got ZERO scratches, as it was literally encased in cardboard. I went home, strengthened the glue and added some duct tape.
Unforeseen Benefits
I have absolutely zero stress about anyone trying to steal this phone mount. I live in a city where it's not unheard of for people to take small things like lights off of bikes. Plus, I got a few entertained comments from other couriers who thought it was clever.
Chatbot Exercise
You’re working on a chatbot designed to support teens whose parents are going through a divorce. Imagine what an ideal experience would look like for a 15-year-old coming to the bot for the first time. Create a logic map or user flow, and walk us through how you approached serving this user.
