CHECK THE VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HGX5V9pnEM
The keypad tie was designed primarily for businessmen. People make and receive large number of calls a day but may not need to take their phone out of their pocket or would benefit from a tactile dial pad in addition to their touch screen. The electronics are spread throughout the tie allowing it to flow and no be overly weighted in any single area. The keypad tie has a variety of cool features which I identified in term of three design guidelines
1. Re-appropriated Actions
Users answer calls by pressing the side of the knot and hang up by pressing or tugging below the knot. The dial pad is located at far end of the tie. Both actions are similar to the motion people associate with wearing a tie; adjusting the knot and playing with the end respectively
2. "See It Now ?" Interface
The subtlety of the interaction falls apart if you have a bunch of numbers floating around on your tie. For that reason I elongated the numbers and integrated them into the large pattern. As a result probably wouldn't notice them unless you saw the tie up close or I pointed it out to you, hence the 'see it now?'.
3. Subtle Novelty
Overall the tie has a very subtle yet engaging design. It creates almost a James Bond like interaction. I believe that products like this are the gateway for mainstream users to accept wearable interfaces on a larger scale.
