Concept Development: Braun Headphones by David Qvist

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT: BRAUN HEADPHONES M.Sc. 2nd semester Individual Project 3 weeks

Design Brief.

Concept

Market

Reasons for wearing larger headphones include both

Products, in the market for expensive on-ear, or over-

• Male, 40+

functional qualities, but also some very interesting

ear, headphones, can generally be characterized by a

• City dweller

social considerations.

company’s deliberate weighting of functional and social

• Upper-middle class

Of the former, the potential of providing a sound experi-

aspects. Most brands tend to position themselves in

• Cultivated intellectual

ence that is well beyond that of smaller devices, such

one of two groups:

• Self-motivated individualist

as in-ear models, is obvious, but comfort also plays a role. Furthermore, larger headphones allow the user to drown out ambient noise, either by sheer volume or using various noise cancelling technologies.

1. The highly marketed, heavily branded, social

Target Group

• High level of education, high income

marker headphones, or 2. the sophisticated social marker headphones that also promise decent audio quality.

Criteria and Constraints

Social considerations include serving as an identity

The former segment includes brands such as Beats,

marker and/or status symbol through the design and/or

Marshall, Bose and SACKit. These brands are typically

The new headphone design should allow for the target

brand of the headphones.

adopted by consumers with little to no interest in sound

customer to express his distinct lifestyle and to put

Traveling through Copenhagen by train, metro or foot,

quality. The latter segment includes brands like Bowers

distance between the urban lifestyle and himself.

the above mentioned social considerations become

& Wilkins, Audio-Technica and Sennheiser - and to some

quite apparent. However, one use case sticks out like

degree also B&O, with their Beoplay series. They typ-

a sore thumb: Middle aged, well-dressed men wearing

ically leverage on a history of building high-end audio

headphones targeted at a much younger audience.

equipment, by designing lifestyle headphones primarily

This observation is the starting point for the following

targeted at the urban style mainstream.

product development process and will provide key

The above segmentation provides clarity for the po-

specifications for both design brief and later evaluation

sitioning of the coming headphone design by Braun.

of concepts.

Immediate competitors include the brands that com-

The retail price of the headphones is going to be 1800

pete in group 2, but the key aspect is to differentiate by

dkk, and the audio quality should match this level of

focussing exclusively on the specified target group, as

investment.

the assessment is that there is a clear gap in the market.

• Must communicate maturity, professionalism and sophistication • Must draw heavily on previous audio equipment design by Braun, primarily from the 1950’s • Minimalistic, but distinct aesthetics, with jewel-like qualities

Image Boards.

Lifestyle

Mood

The lifestyle of the target customer is characterized by quality and luxury goods. He is highly moti-

The mood caused by - or affiliated with - the product, is one of balance and being in control. The

vated by individual success and enjoys spending his hard-earned money on goods that confirm and

target customer will have and a strong sense of tapping into history - and being part of something

express his social and economic status - both to himself and his surroundings. However, he also

bigger - such as the adventurous migration undertaken by early american pioneers as they ven-

possesses a genuine appreciation for well-crafted products.

tured into the unknown west in the late 1800’s.

Styling

Usage

The product’s styling is simple with strong defining lines. The form is characterized by simple geom-

Using the product is a matter of portability and simplicity. It must be able to project sound into the

etries, with each volume serving a distinct function. The construction is clearly visible and is further

ears of the user while providing a comfortable fit. The product is a one-trick-pony, in terms of func-

accentuated by contrasting shapes, colours and materials. The styling is timeless, with a hint of

tionality, and thus should be extremely easy to use correct.

nostalgia, and with attention to even the smallest of details.

Page 4

The Concept. The Braun headphone concept is a classic design. The product exudes quality in every detail, and only materials of the highest grade have been used. The honesty of the visible construction, the analogue feel caused by the extensive use of full grain leather along with classic technology, results in aesthetics that express both masculinity and sophistication.

sh io

ea k

bl y

In ne

se m

ut er c

rin g

Construction.

Technology.

Flexible inner propylene proﬁle ensures horizontal ﬁt of headphones while also housing the connecting wire

Internal padding made from polyethylene foam provides for a comfortable ﬁt

High quality full grain leather resists wear and abrasion Bracket made of matte ﬁnish stainless steel ensures strength and stifness at structurally loaded joint Polished stainless steel rails L/R markers indicate correct wear Powder coated aluminium provides controlled acoustical enclosure

Inner cap made from polycarbonate with close running engineering ﬁt ensures adjustability and stability in vertical direction

Radially polished steel outer cap

3,5 mm headphone jack

Flexible rubber wiring allows for vertical adjustment of cups

Polyethylene foam cushion ensures a comfortable ﬁt and blocks ambient noise while still allowing speaker sound to pass through

Perforations allow for sound to pass through

Product Shots.

The Design Proces.

Design Parameters The following pages summarize the design process where exploration into form and aesthetics were conducted while maintaining an underlying sense of reality by referring to existing headphones. To ensure a realistic end-product, the following parameters were considered. Functionality and technology: • Headband • Wiring • Signal transmission • Driver size / cup volume • Material properties • Assemblability Ergonomics: • Headband cushion • Headband extender mechanism • Ear pads (cushioning) • Material properties

Explorative Sketching. First, a simple exploration of shapes and volumes served to get acquainted with both the aesthetic effects and functional performance of different combinations of simple volumes.

Aesthetics. What is a pair of headphones? What can be expressed through aesthetic choices? The sketches below are an attempts at building simple headphones while exploring the effects of styling.

Two Directions. Exploring alternate ways of styling, the two sketches on this page were decided on as candidates for further exploration and development. They both possess the necessary simplicity in terms of lines and volumes.

Details. Based on the two chosen designs, the following is an exploration of both construction and mechanics. Each concept is varied through the identified design parameters, and a final direction is chosen (bottom right).

Synthesis. The pre-render below is a synthesised manifestation of the chosen direction in terms of styling, construction, materials and mechanisms. It concluded the analogue part of the design process and served as reference for the following CAD-modelling.