Retro Products
Illustrations & GIFs
Year: 2022
Here is a collection of illustrations of consumer electronic products from the past that have captured my intrigue. Industrial design, like anything else is an ever evolving discipline. A profession centered around problem solving, it has many influencing factors like: human behavior trends, material innovation, technological innovation, product usage patterns, changing demographics, business needs, engineering constraints, manufacturing techniques etc. to name a few. Because of a vast array of influences, the profession has to evolve rapidly and hence the design of these products.
My goal with this series is to learn about these products; how they came into being, what was the design brief, the conversations that went into bringing these products to life, and get some insights about Industrial Design aspects like: its form, functionality, materials, colors, ergonomics etc. I intend to do so by creating 1:1 scale technical style illustrations (so that I can approximate the dimensions of each knob or the fillet radius for example).
Combining my profession in Industrial Design with my interest in motion graphics, I then make animated GIF (using Photoshop) of these illustrations so that I can spend some more time observing and learning about these products.
Sony Walkman WM-2 (1981)
Personal Stereo Cassette Player
WDH (mm): 80*30*109
Akio Morita, one of Sony's founders, had asked Mr.Nobutoshi Kihara to find a way for him to listen to operas on long-haul business flights. This is how the idea of personal stereo was born.
The "Pressman"was a popular cassette recorder among businessmen in the late 1970s. Its popularity and functionality (mechanism) formed the basis of the first Walkman TPS-L2 released in 1979.
The TPS-L2 was the first Walkman, and at the time many within and outside of the company claimed that "without a recording function, it won't sell". It however became a huge success at the dawn of a changing world and newer lifestyles.
Following the success of the first Walkman, having a worthy successor became important. The emphasis this time, was on design and sound quality. For this, the company employed a rather unconventional course of development for its era. The design specifications were determined first, with engineers then creating the corresponding product.
Sony's second generation Walkman WM-2 was thus born.
Sony SS G7 (1976)
Speaker System
WDH (mm): 510*445*940
A product of Sony's audio business group. The SS G7 is a 3-way loudspeaker system featuring a tweeter, mid-range, and bass driver with a bass reflex enclosure. The speakers feature an in-line speaker layout with titanium membrane for tweeter and of course the notable corrugated Carbocon membrane for the woofer after which the speaker gets its name. Another noteworthy feature which gives it the iconic look is its baffle design. The baffle surface has been given a special name unique to the company. It is called an AG-Acoustic Grooved board, and the surface which is cut like a grid improves directivity and diffuses mid-high range frequencies, hence delivering rich acoustics.
Sony's ambitions with this speaker were high and they even commissioned and built a cone manufacturing plant to produce these speakers. The SS G7 was created under the leadership of Sony's head of audio, Heitaro Nakajima.
Beosound 9000 (1996)
6-Disk CD Player System
WDH (mm): 300*70*900
Designed by David Lewis, the Beosound 9000 comprises an AM/FM radio and CD player. As can be seen, it can be loaded with 6-CDs in a row, allowing showcasing one's CD collection as a work of art. The 6-CD changer empowers the user with an opportunity to choose from a multitude of titles without having to change the CDs manually. It has a power-operated tinted glass lid to prevent accidents, and the clamper's back-lit acrylic plate illuminates the CD playing. All these mechanisms are engineered to provide uninterrupted operation whether placed upright in a bookcase, laid flat on a shelf, or hung on a wall - either vertically or horizontally.