The Idea Factory
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The Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation was founded on May 7, 1946 inside a burned out warehouse. The corporation's founders did not have any products or good prospects for success, but they had big dreams and principles, which they wrote down on a piece of paper.
"Always do what has never been done before" (Masaru Ibuka as quoted in Kunkel, 1999)
Every image in this set is an AI-generated concept of a CD player by @litguru
The corporation designed, developed, and sold rice cookers and heating pads. Sounds like very humble beginnings, but this corporation went on to create an empire in "consumer, professional and broadcast audio/video equipment, recording media, computers, software, motions pictures, recorded music, telecommunication, medical equipment and more" (Kunkel, 1999).
The products designed by what is today known as the Sony corporation have changed the world in direct and subtle ways. Spawning whole new industries the world over. Products, after all, influence how we relate to the world around us. They're not just machines or appliances but extensions of our nervous systems that allow us to access and interact with phenomena in the world such as audio, moving images, interactive media, digital data, and so on. Thus influencing and guiding our behaviour (Kunkel, 1999).
Every company takes a different approach to product design but given the success of the Sony Corporation, it is interesting to learn about how they approach product design and development. At the heart of the corporations design practices is the Sony Design Center, which according to Kunkel (1999) is an "idea factory" with headquarters in Tokyo's Kitashinagwa district (as of publication) but with studios worldwide (the most recent having been opened in California). The design center (founded in 1961) is where many of Sony's products are conceived. It is at the forefront of a company that has had many successes in analog and digital appliances such as the following:
- The first tape recorder (1950)
- The first portable transistor radio (1955)
- The first transistorized television (1960)
- The first home video system (1975)
- The first Walkman (1979)
- The first home compact disc player (1982)
- The first handheld 8 mm video camera (1985)
- The first portable compact disc player, mini disc player, flat screen television and much more. (Kunkel, 1999)
The Sony Design Center has an excellent track record, but unlike other corporations that gladly showcase their campuses, the center is very secretive and few are given access to it. Digital Dreams: The Work of the Sony Design Center (1999) was written by Paul Kunkel, who was given access to the center's "new products... concepts...techniques and design philosophies." I was perusing said volume when I came across an interesting quote by one of the center's designers, relating the thinking behind a concept CD player:
I wanted to express a sense of the unknown. Something powerful yet also very precise. A strong image was important. The design also had to look as heavy as possible. I wanted it to express no particular place, time, or nationality. The line could almost have been drawn by a machine. Perhaps it came from outer space, or from a dream...
Ah, those wacky designers. While I'm not a product designer myself, except in the loosest sense, I have had some exposure to the field, so this quote gave me a chuckle. Unlike an engineer who needs to work with the tangible nuts and bolts of a product, the designer focuses on the intangibles and oftentimes esoteric aspects of product design. The words spirit, vision, perception, form, functionality, content, simplicity, luxury, imagery, symbolism, style, culture, and other colourful terms are part of the lexicon of the designer's vocabulary. Hence their reputation as being a bit on the "flaky" side. But to design a product that changes the world, at least as Sony practices are concerned, being flaky seems like an advantageous and positive trait.
Upon reading the aforementioned quote by designer Atsushi Kawase, I decided to fire up Stable Diffusion and create my own CD players- which you have seen sprinkled throughout this post. My Sony CD Player concept was based on variations of that quote, particularly the part about the CD player looking as if it came from outer space or a dream. I created different generations of the product. As shown in the images below, I varied the key phrase about whether the design was from space or a dream. I finally settled on a "spaceship" design to create more futuristic looking elements. I also played around with different materials (glass and aluminum) and more abstract concepts like holography. I added a few flourishes here and there like pens, notebooks, and sketching techniques. I present the images in the order in which their sets were created.
Dream and outer space combined
Dream only design
Dream and spaceship
Spaceship only
Spaceship and aluminum design
Spaceship and glass design
Spaceship and holographic interface design
The idea of doing what has never been done before aligns with another of Sony's core principles: lead don't follow (Kunkel, 1999). To create a product, don't worry too much about market trends but make bold moves towards new markets in which new rules are created with talent and initiative. As Sony's former general manager once said, "we use the best technology to create something that excite us, refine that product and try to create a market for it by educating and communicating with the public." (Kunkel, 1999). The Walkman is an example. There was no market for this product back then, and even Sony insiders were not keen on the idea, which as it turned out was a resounding success that changed how we interacted with music and the world around us.
Style. Innovation. Quality. Reliability. Fun. Perfection. Flawless execution. These are words that Kunkel (1999) associates with the fast paced work carried out in the design center. Along with teamwork, comradery, and shared vision. The book Digital Dreams was written at the turn of the Millennium, the sci-fi 21st century at our doorsteps, so the book is full of breathless, extravagant, and visionary descriptions spiced up with kickass product images, just as any good design book should. Just in case I missed something about the Sony Center, I asked the Brave browser AI to tell me about it. The response is copied below. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you found it interesting and inspiring.
Sony Design Center- Brave Browser AI Results
The Sony Design Center is a studio responsible for the East Coast industrial and graphic design groups of Sony Electronics, located in an arc-shaped suburban office building. With a global presence, the center is part of a consortium of nearly 300 top industrial designers from Tokyo to San Francisco to Cologne, driving innovation and shaping the company’s product lines.
Key Facts
- Responsible for nearly 2,000 new products, concepts, packaging schemes, and design strategies every year, generating sales of products and services totaling nearly $50 billion annually.
- Exerts a significant influence on popular culture and current trends in industrial and graphic design, making Sony one of the most recognized brand names in the world.
- Has played a crucial role in defining Sony’s product lines, particularly in the transition from analog to digital technology.
Notable Locations
- The Sony Design Center America is located in an arc-shaped suburban office building, serving as a hub for East Coast design activities.
- The company has design studios in various locations worldwide, including Tokyo, San Francisco, and Cologne.
Book: Digital Dreams
The book “Digital Dreams: The Work of the Sony Design Center” by Paul Kunkel provides an in-depth look into the design center’s work, featuring over 100 new products, concepts, and prototypes. The book showcases the center’s role in shaping Sony’s product lines and its influence on popular culture and design trends.
Recent Development
In 2005, Sony opened a new U.S. Design Center in Los Angeles, bringing together the company’s U.S. design staff, including product, graphic, and interaction teams, in a single location. This move aimed to foster collaboration and innovation among designers.
Social Media Presence
The Sony Design Center has an official Instagram account (@sonydesign_official), where it shares its design work and creative processes with the public.
Resources
Kunkel, Paul. 1999. Digital Dreams: The Work of the Sony Design Center. Universe Pub.
Brave browser AI-created description of the Sony Design Center. Generated November 8, 2024.
The soy CD player
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