The history of Industrial Design can be seen as an evolution of memes through different products. Whenever we design something we look at references and existing products for inspiration, from which we select the memes that we find interesting, ‘copying’ them.
This was the underlying principle for the following project, which consisted in exploring the memes related to a specific lifestyle and using a memetic approach to design a new product that would fit this target group.
MOODBOARDS
Firstly the lifestyle of 'Connected People' was selected and two moodboards were created.
The lifestyle moodboard reflects the target group for whom the design is made, their context and their daily life.
Shape, texture, material and colour are four important factors regarding the design of a product. The memetic moodboard helped to define the product character and its final design through the combination of details, materials and features of reference products.
FORMGIVING
The process followed with exploring different shapes for the product to be designed: a home speaker. Random shapes were firstly created and the final one was selected according to the product character that wanted to be conveyed: confidence, feminine, connectedness.
The interaction with the speaker was analysed by creating several configurations with the different parts of the speaker, as well as creating quick mock-ups to test its dimensions and usability. Several iterations were made modelling the different designs in Rhinoceros.
The final design and the parts of the speaker can be visualised below.
This was conceived to be supported on the wall with a magnetic induction base, while also possible to use it on any surface.
VISUAL PROTOTYPING
The aim of the project was to build a visual prototype that could convey the look and feel of the product, as well as the interaction with it.
3D printing was used for the parts of the main body, which were designed to fit together, and the volume control could rotate as in the desired interaction. The different parts were sanded and spray-painted to achieve the final colour and look.
The display and buttons were laser cut, and the speaker holes effect was achieved with a perforated cloth.
The final prototype is presented below, followed by a video that shows the complete design and prototyping process.
