Project Report Sustainable Headphones
Design process/Design outcome
Contents
Introduction The Context The Method Intended Outcomes
Primary Research Case Study One: Alex Bittleston Opinion Poll: Survey Possible briefs Design criteria Initial concepts Sketches Initial Models User group feedback Further modelling How to buy Final Design Evaluation Appendix Refer to Research doc for references.
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Introduction
The Context
The Method
Intended Outcomes
I intend to look into the headphone market and pinpoint an area of which could be improved by a sustainable ethic.
The Headphones market is plagued with products that are designed to be used and discarded when they have broken or become out of date or no longer fashionable.
I will be using a small headphone user group in both a professional workplace and a casual environment to create a product that is both comfortable and still very effective for use, while maintaining a sustainable ethic.
My final intended outcomes for the project are as follows:
I intend to develop a fully functioning pair of headphones that have a sustainable twist that improves on the current unsustainable trends that swamps the market.
This is not a system that can be considered sustainable or eco-friendly. There is no system of recycling as many of the products are not made to be disassembled or broken down.
I will be doing this with: • • •
Video Ethnography, I will video the interviews I have with my user group. Immersive experience. I will experience using headphones and discover myself what it is that is great about the product, and what could be improved. Opinion polls. I will use this to gather an over all view of people onions.
Once the problems have been addresses I will be furthering my knowledge of Headphones manufacture by doing extensive secondary research in to the current market for trends. I will study websites, books and Design Journals to enable myself to model and make the final prototype.
• Final working prototype of the final vision. • CAD model of the final vision. • Models showing development process. • Full in-depth illustrated Project report. • Presentation boards for final end of year show.
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Primary Research Case Study One: Alex Bittlestone Alex Bittlestone was someone that was someone I was directed to by a friend as being someone who always seemed to have a pair of headphones on his person at almost all times and due to this he seemed a perfect person to interview in regards to his personal view on the headphones he buys. Alex brought up a couple of issues straight away. One being the fact that headphones (reasonably inexpensive modern headphones at least) don’t seem to have a very long expected life time. Not if they are being used on a regular basis, which as far as Alex was concerned was the way they should be used. The second was that even if you can have the headphones repaired you still have to go through the lengthy process of sending them away, and it can become quite expensive. When asked if Alex would like a customisble pair of headphones he said this:
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“I would love a pair of headphones that I could
customize. It has to be properly customizable though, not just picking a colour or logo out of a small selection. I want real customizability where you can actually change bits of the headphones, like art work on it, or being able to change the shape.” He also mentioned this: “The problem is if you customized your headphones and then they break its going to be really annoying.” Alex inadvertently touched here on the fact that if people are more attached to an object they tend to take care of it more than the things they have no emotional attachment too. Although it would be very annoying if the headphones you have become emotionally attached to break, the user would none the less become more protective of them as a result of this fear. Ales brought up another interesting point. The AR,Drone is a RC air drone that is controlled by your
smart phone. But the thing that Alex liked about it was that all of the part for the AR,Drone can be bought easily and replaced with great easy. This means that should the AR,Drone be broken wile using it, it doesn’t mean you have to buy a whole new AR,Drone you just buy the inexpensive part. When Alex described how this ethic could be applied to the headphones he mentioned this: “being able to buy a separate cable with the jack Plug on it. Maybe then you could have it so you could buy a different head band if you wanted. It could be a build it yourself headphones. You could buy all the parts separately and make your own pair of headphones that you made yourself. If would really
feel like your own pair of headphones!” I really like this idea of a ‘built it yourself headphones’. The idea of being able to make your own personl pair of headphones really appealed to Alex and I believe it would also apeal to many other people that have a problem with the currnet state of the headphone market.
Opinion Polls: Survey The survey I published on Survey Monkey (http://www. surveymonkey.com) also threw up some interesting results. It was answered by 60 people which I believe for at this stage in the development process to be enough to get a wide enough view of peoples opinion. Obviously it I wanted to cover more specific aspects of the product I would like to cover a much broader audience. For now though this will be enough. Some of the most interesting results are on the right-hand side of this page. I found it interesting that only 50% of people would be encouraged to buy a pair of headphones that could be customised. This may be due to the lack of examples and when people are put in a corner they can very rarely think of something they would prefer than a product that was designed for the masses. With a selection of possible customizability options I believe this ratio would increase to more wanting a personal pair of headphones.
On the other hand the
survey shows that the majority of people would in fact like a pair of headphones that you could buy replacement parts for. This again could probably be improved if the replacing of these parts was very simple and effortless. I believe the 30% of the survey participants answered no, because repairing electronics typically requires a high level of skill and therefor more than some people want to bother with. The last pie chart on the right shows what people more look for in their headphones. Visual style has only been chosen a very small amount of times. This is interesting as many companies rely on their visual appeal, for example Skullcandy and Apple headphones. It is not surprising that Comfort and Sound quality are considered the more important factors when buying headphones, but visual style is surprising to see so low down the list. Some of the other interesting elements that came up are these: The mass majority of people would prefer Over-ear headphones. Most people send up to 2 hours per day on average using their headphones. Only 70% of people want sustainable headphones 33% would spend between £5-£20 22% would spend between £20-£40
Would you prefer to buy headphones that are customizable?
50%
Yes
50%
No
Would you buy headphones that you could buy replacement parts for?
30% Yes No 70%
Which of these quali/es do you look for in your headphones? (please do not select more than two) 4% Comfort 46%
50%
Sound Quality Visual style
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Possible Briefs Design Criteria I have narrowed it down to several different briefs. These briefs have been developed from the insights taken from my primary research.
1/. Design a pair of headphones that employ a large amount of freedom for customization. These headphone have to be able to be customized in a large range of scope. Allowing the user to make the product that feels like it’s their uniquely personalised headphones.
2/. Design a pair of headphones that are made of inherently sustainable materials.
All the components must be made from materials that are vastly more sustainable or recyclable than the materials used in the current market.
I took these ideas back to my three interviewees and a small group of student at University College Falmouth and they almost all chose brief 3. The general consensus was that having a pair of headphones that could be repaired would be very desirable. They also touched on the fact that brief one could be combined with brief three.
“If all the parts can be replaced then it isn’t very hard to then replace those parts with components that have different decoration or colours”.
This is something that I will certainty touch on. I will keep brief 3 as being the main brief. Whilst touching on the element of customization.
- The headphones 3/. Design a pair of headphones that are able to MUST have easy to replace components. be repaired. The headphones much be able to be repaired with simple clip and fit pieces.
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All the parts for the headphones much be able to replaced easily with very little skill or difficulty.
- Many of the component should be able to be customised.
Most of the components should be designed to be replaced with customized elements. A variety of different headband’s and ear pads.
- The design of the headphones should be able to fit with the current market. The design should be visually innovative, but still within the confines of the current market. Nothing too eccentric.
- The product should be designed with a method for selling. A method of selling the product should be considered. Wether this is on a website or store should be determined.
Initial Concepts Sketches My first concept sketching stage was quite literally a basic idea around trying to get some visual ideas down on paper and seeing how people reacted to it. Their very quickly became a very clear leader from popular approval. This design was quite a simple form with a headband possibly made from ply-wood. This means that should I take this design forwards that it should be very easy to customise, the user being able to have the headband with their own printed colour, pattern or even design. The over-ear design was an obvious favourite, which is only backed up by my survey. Many
people complained that in-ear headphones were uncomfortable for them. Where as some said they found in-ear headphone to be the most comfortable. So due to this conflict I will most likely be creating over-ear headphones. The three images below are some developed ideas on a few different ideas for headphone designs. Where as the image to the right is a collection of very quick design ideas with quite a variation on the ply-wood theme. Image to the right Appendix A Images below, from left to right Appendix B,C and D.
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After receiving feedback on the initial designs, I decided to continue drawing and try and develop some of the favourite designs a little further. The image on the left (Appendix F) is a further developed drawing of one of the favourite designs. It shows some more details for the ear piece and potential ideas on where some of the buttons could be, like a volume up, pause and volume down button. Or even having a volume control wheel that goes around the entire ear piece. This drawing also shows a clean indication of how the head band slots through the ear enclosure. These designs where taken very well by my user group when going back to talk to Alex again. He said:
“I really like the way the head band looks as though it’s literally
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going through the ear piece.�
The image at the bottom of the page (Appendix E) is a selection of drawings and ideas that show a few different variations on both the head band and the ear piece. Alex like many of these designed. One of the designs he liked was the earpiece thas seems to blend straight out of the head band. We did both agree that this on the other hand would be very difficult change the earpiece for, as it is simply part of the head band. We decided they the best way to go about this was to have a head band and ear piece that is very easy to separate. This would mean that it would be much easier to change either the head band of ear piece for something that suits you better.
The image on the right (Appendix G) shows a further development for one of the inear headphone ideas. It is still continuing the ply-wood theme, by having a ply-wood back of the earpiece itself. Alex liked this one, but it wasn’t as big a hit as some of the sketches in Appendix E. He did say this:
“I really like the way it looks like its coming out of the ply-wood surface, just like the other pair of on-ear headphones that look like an extension of the headband surface.”
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Initial Models One point that Alex brought up during the feedback session was this:
“How is the head band going to fit all heads, most head band extend right?�
This is a very good point and something I have over looked. So I started to think about how I could include an extension mechanism within the headband. I decided quite early one that it would either be achieved in one of two ways. Either; the headband would slide through the earpiece itself. Or a sliding mechanism in the headband. Appendix H (top left and bottom left-hand image), Appendix I (bottom-centre and right handside) are sketches showing two different methods of containing the mechanism within the headband. Both of these designs mean that the headband would have to be made of either a plastic or plywood. Because of the nature of plywood and it’s layered properties these mechanisms can be contained almost completely within the headband itself.
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The image to the direct right shows one of the designs from both the top view and a cut through view that shows the layers that will construct the mechanism. I intend to make these mechanisms as simple models by using 1.5mm BFP (Birch faced ply) and see how each mechanism works individually. I will be drawing up files in Adobe Illustrator and exporting them as Illustrator 3 files to laser cut the 1.5mm ply-wood to get a precise model.
The bottom two images directly below this text are the Illustrator files that where used to laser cut the 1.5mm BFP. The layers will be cut in both directions of the ply-wood meaning I can test how it moves with the flexy part going with the the grain or against it. The design below shows system of having a flexible tab on the top surface, which would be the surface of the headband facing away from the head. This flexible band sits in the gaps of the ‘ladder’ sections on the pull out. This should mean that the headband will rest in those gaps without slipping or sliding out. The faces that need to slide apart, such as the sides of the ‘ladder’ steps will be shaved to a 45 degrees angle.
Appendix J
The design below is a similar design to the previous only all the flexible part are contained within the band itself. A section behind the flexible tab is empty space allowing for the flex. The red lines on the Illustrator files are to be engraved. These will act as guides for shaving down the friction surfaces on the ‘ladder’ sections to 45 degrees.
Appendix K
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I returned to Alex Bittlestone and discussed the prospect of an extending headband and showed him the models I had so far created. After a little debating we decided that it would probably be easier to remove it from the design entirely and simple have a system of measuring the clients head before purchase. This would be quite easy. The headbands would come in a range of sized which will fit any head size. Both me and Alex decided that the concept was a really nice idea, and that the models proved that the mechanism would work, and well at that. The models did show a slight problem with friction between parallel sliding faces of the ply-wood. This could be sorted by removing a very thin layer of wood from each sliding face therefore giving a tolerance for swelling in humid conditions. Alex decided that even though it shouldn’t be used that this design was the better one, although the other design did look better when it was extended. But this design (To the right) had much better functionality.
The next stage was to try and figure out how think the head band needs to be to be able to hold the shape well enough, but flexible enough to be able to open up and press against the ears and hold the ear pieces in place. 3mm two layer thickness. This thickness gives quite a good deal of flexibility although it not as strong against twisting. THIS IS THE CHOSEN THICKNESS
I created three examples of the thickness of the headband. These where all made from 1.5mm birch faced ply. One an a two layer thickness, one at a three layer thickness. Finally one at a four layer thickness. I don’t expect that last one to have any give but I am going to give it a try anyhow. These where glued with PVA and clamped. They where then left for 24 hours before being removed from the clamps, cleaned up and then tested. The width of the head band has not yet been decided on and therefore the strength of the headband may fluctuate a little due to this final change.
4.5mm three layer thickness. This is very stiff although does give a little bit of flexibility. I doubt that this thickness will be suitable even when it is full size and wrapped around the users head.
6mm four layer thickness. This thickness is far too thick. It does have a little flexibility as you can see on the image above (directly above). This is not nearly enough flexibility however for the headphones. Even if the headband was almost the width of the users head it would not be able to hold itself in place.
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User Group Feedback I returned to Alex, Joel and Vicki to assess the design we have so far and try and discover a final design. We decided it would be best to create a unique pair of headphones for each person, rather than creating an archive of component designs and making them choose from those, as this may take a very long time and would involve some large scale research to gather a broad enough variety of designs. We discussed what each user would want from a pair of headphones, for example:
“I want to be able to wear my headphones around my neck when I am not listening to them” (Vicki) And
“I want comfort. I‘ll only be using them at home so they don’t need to be tiny” (Alex) 12
I then asked each of them specific features, like the colour of the enclosures, and the type of material for the headbands. I then went away and made some hand and digital renders to try and figure out what would be the best The image of the left of this (Appendix L) was drawn up wile I was with Alex and rendered later on Corel Painter X. The shape and colour of the headband was decided with him along with the colour of the enclosures. I showed Alex this design and he liked it. This will most likely be the final design that will be taken forward to the prototyping stage.
Further Modelling I decided to return to the modelling stage. I wanted to figure out how this design would fit together and actually test if a headband can actually be made from ply-wood and how this would fit with the enclosure. I started with the head band, as I figured this is going to be the easiest first step to acquire the comfort level I desire. I made a wooden Jig, the form roughly taken from the Sony headphones I disassembled in my Research Report. Two layers of 1.5mm plywood where glued together with PVA and tightly strapped to the Jig. This was then left for 24 hours. After that I removed it from the Jig and cut it down to shize, by using saws and a Bobbin sander. The headband has a little bit of flex but not to much as to cause discomfort for those people who have larger of wider heads. These headphones where designed to be over-ear headphones and therefore only needed to hold the
ear piece against the head rather than pressing them there. After the head band was sanded smooth and cleaned up I decided to turn my attention to the ear piece. I started making the ear piece with blue foam as it is a very easy material to work with. I decided to make the earpiece 8x8cm with a depth of 6cm. Unfortunately the leather ear pads I have ordered have not arrived. I therefor have to guess how big the would be as I do not yet have anything to refer too.
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I shaped the foam using mostly 180 and 300 grit pieces of sand paper and a half round file. Once I had created a half dome I sliced off an off centre layer. This is where the head band will fit within the enclosure and create the correct tilt to fit against the head. I then marked off on the foam where the head band should sit and using a file I removed the material that would later be replaced with the head band. The inside of the layer that has be en removed is hollowed out a little to allow for the slight curve of the head band. As you can see by the image on the right this system works well enough to hold the earpiece in place wile still keeping the style of the head band and the way it looks as though it runs through the ear piece. The model was finally finished off with car body filler and primer to later be painted.
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How to Buy
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le Cab g din pad Ear ing add dp Ban ce pie Ear d ban ad He es hon adp He
I discussed with Alex, Joel and Vicki about how they would imagine they would prefer to buy and customise their headphones. They all decided that the best way to go about this was to have a system that is quite similar to the system that is on the converse shoes ‘create’ page. This page enables you too see your shoes from different angles with the colours you are choosing appearing on your model of the shoes. This would be a great way to see what your headphones would look like before you actually get them in your hands. From these pages you would be able to change the size of your head band, the shape of the head band and enclosures. What materials are being used in the head band and ear pieces. Possible allowing a discount for the more sustainable items/materials. This page would also allow you to customise each piece, in both colour and maybe allowing the user to upload images to print on their head band etc. Wile you pick you items a price in the bottom left corner would calculate the price of your headphones right there in front of you to save any shocking moments later on and allowing the user to calculate the price as they choose their headphone components. Therefore giving the user a flexibility in the price.
Colours patterns
Add to Cart £67.95 Add to cart to buy your headphones.
Save it
Final Designs Alex Bittlestone I spoke to Alex again and we decided on a final design for his headphones. Alex wanted large over-ear headphones with comfy soft leather ear pads. These where to be used at home so no need to make them portable. Just comfy. Alex wanted a thick comfy headband and to be made from a light coloured wood. Alex wanted the typical Red, Black and White colour scheme. Over all his design has come out very masculine. Although this could be altered with a few changes like the colour, or size of the ear pieces should someone want a pair of headphones that wasn’t so masculine. See Appendix M for side and front views.
Joel Sargent
Joel wanted an entirely different type of headphones, he wanted a paif that he could use on the move wile still maintaining a reasonable level of comfort Joel wanted a smaller pair of headphones than Alex for modility resons. Joel wanted on-ear ear pieces rather that over-ear. Joel also preferred foam pads over the leather that both Alex and Vicki chose. A soft leather headband for comfort on his head and back of his neck. Joel really liked the idea of a plywood head band but didn’t like the lighter coloured wood. So for his design we decided to go for a darker wood for his headband with just a light turquoise colour to be used for the enclosures.
See Appendix N for side and front views.
Vicki Harris Vicki wanted a pair of headphones that she could wear all day if she wanted, the problem she has with headphones these days are that they are really hot to wear on her neck. This is why she usually goes for in-ear headphones, even though she always seems to break them. So for her design we went for a thinner head band with a soft leather padding for comfort on the back of her neck and top of her head. Black leather ear pads with black enclosures. Vicki wanted to have a purple headband (her favourite colour) with a white leather cover for the band. See Appendix O for side and front views.
This exploded diagrom shows how all of the components on the headphones would fit together. As you can see on the headband the cable will rin through the head band and a universal 2 bolts will hold any ear piece to any head band. This is a drawing of Alex personal pair headphones.
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Evaluation This project has take a couple of different paths throughout its development. Starting off as an idea of creating a pair of headphones that simply have a sustainable ethic, becoming a repairable pair of headphones and finally landing an a product that can become customised to the user taste. It has for filled it intended outcome though, to become something that has a higher sustainable ethic than the current market. Should I have had more time there are many things I would have liked to have done. For example a wider survey at the start to ensure that my finding where indeed accurate. To develop the product much further until I have produced a working prototype with an archive of differed components that can be interchanged as often or as widely in terms of taste as the user would want. I really believe with further time and investment that this product could be developed to become a marketable product. Although a lot more work is required to get it to this stage. None the less believe that the basic idea is there and rounded enough to be able to take it further.
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Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
Appendix G
Appendix H
Appendix I
Appendix K
Appendix J
Appendix L
Appendix M
Appendix N
Appendix O