CONDUIT is the answer to a simple question: why do we listen to music? When you put on your headphones you escape the everyday into a world of your choosing, narrated by your favorite artists. In this respect the personal audio device is not merely a product, it is a conduit through which the user connects to their dreams and aspirations.
These headphones are big, they don't fold up and they are very conspicuous. They are not designed to be put in a pack or hidden away, they are designed to be seen, a bold visual statement attesting to the users authenticity and strength of character. Rather than hide the cord away I designed a thick ribbon extending from both earpieces as a bold visual statement. At the end of the ribbon is an audio jack and a volume control, a riff on the second generation Ipod shuffle, an audio player which I own and admire.
The earbud was based around the interplay between two surfaces, creating affordances for various hand positions, and comfort in different ear types.
Taking a minimalist approach utilizing subtle affordances, the portable speaker was a simple twist top with a micro usb in the bottom to charge.
I tried a number of hole patterns for this speaker and in my research stumbled across the interior of a sunflower, which can be mathematically described using a fibonacci spiral. I used a formula for the spiral to generate a spreadsheet of positions and plugged the results into Solidworks, after experimenting with different sizes and densities I settled on 499 1.1 mm holes, the 500th being transformed into the volume indicator which extends down the front of the device.
The design was informed by a persona and a few precedents which I imagined this aspirational user would surround themselves with.
This was the mood board used as reference throughout the process.
Development began with hand sketching, I was able to print and test the earbud because of its small size.
After the initial sketching to flesh out some concepts, I developed and prototyped the earbud, satisfied with the design I then iterated in the same style using Solidworks surfacing techniques to refine the forms of the headphone and speaker.
Image taken by mK B courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/nerfski/
Image courtesy of Splitshire http://pixabay.com/en/users/SplitShire-364019/
gLike
CONDUIT audio
CONDUIT is a line of audio devices I designed using Solidworks Class A surfacing techniques in my first semester of my third year at Emily Carr.
View Website