Making 500 NFC Enabled Key Tags
I had the opportunity to create and produce a corporate gift for the BMW Group + QUT Design Academy. I’m Daniel Fisher – a now graduate of Industrial Design and Marketing double degree at QUT. In semester 2 2021 I had the opportunity to apply for a project with the BMW Group + QUT Design Academy through the Impact Lab 4 program to design a corporate gift for the Academy to deliver at various events and to various stakeholders.
The project was a challenge as the brief was to create something that balanced cost, quality, and utility with the values of the Academy; professional, high performing, accomplished and resilient. Initial concepts explored creating traditional corporate gifts with advanced manufacturing techniques, however, these concepts felt like reinventing the wheel and a traditional corporate gift felt too ‘traditional’ for the high-end academy brand – I really did not want to create something that will end up in the recipient’s drawer and never used, so I aimed to focus on a concept that used high quality, resilient materials, with a universality to its utility and a professional aspect to its purpose – this brief resulted in a hand stitched NFC enabled key tag that enables contactless networking.
The keyring is composed of a laser cut leather outer and contains a RFID inlay that is fixed inside of the leather outer, it is then hand stitched, and edges are burnished. The tag was then presented on a printed card envelope with instructions for the user to write their own information to the tag using their smartphone. The resulting design fit the brief, the leather a resilient and high-quality material that improved over time, the RFID element gave the tag a utility to the recipient that could be tailored to their needs and enabling them to wirelessly share information in-person from their keyring. The instructions and setup experience of the keyring allowed the user to create a personal connection and sense of ownership to the gift. Finally, the ability to network and share contact information in-person without the exchange of a business card gives the gift real value in a post-pandemic world, and as a bonus it is a conversation starter that brings the BMW Group + QUT Design Academy into the conversation when someone uses it.
After the Impact Lab 4 project the BMW Group + QUT Design Academy approached and commissioned me to produce the tags. I was pleased to say yes and made 500 units for the Academy. Having worked with leather as a hobby I was excited and keen to create something on scale – the experience was great, and I learned a lot about the challenges of scaling up a design, the experience gave me new knowledge and provided me with the ability to use my industrial design and marketing skills in a real project.
I want to thank all the team at the Academy for helping where they could, it was a pleasure to complete the project and I am very impressed with the delivery the Academy have given to the key tags.
Thanks for reading,
Daniel Fisher
Industrial Design Graduate
