|
|
This is only a preview of the paper
Click here to register and get the full text.
Existing members click here to login
|
|
|
Product analysis of the Sony Walkman 1979 and the Louis Poulsen X light.
Introduction
There are some people who view product design as nothing more than the prettying up of an engineers hard work. ... Product design is about providing solutions, not just visual or aesthetic solutions but solutions to all manner of problems. ...
Sony Walkman TPS-L2, 1979.
In July 1979 Sony, Japans largest electronic manufacturer, launched a diminutive little product which within five years was voted as one of the three biggest pleasure products of the century. That product was the world’s first personal stereo cassette player a machine which was called various names such as Sound About, Stowaway, and even Song About, but became known to the world as the Walkman. Incredibly the Walkman had been conceived, designed, and manufactured during a period of just over four months, an incredibly short period of time for any product especially one of such stature. ... Sony was enjoying success in the growing home stereo market, and the implementation of the transistor for a portable AM band receiver created a pocket radio "boom" in the 60s which continued well into the 70s. ... In this environment the Walkman was conceived.
The story told in Sony’s official history claims that it was the company co-founder and then Honorary Chairman Masaru Ibuka who came up with the concept in January 1979. ...
After taking this with him on a trip he was so impressed that went straight to Akio Morita, Sony chairman, who saw the potential of such a product. The decision was made to develop the product straight away, and to release it before the summer holidays. This date was chosen because Morita decided the product was to be aimed at young people and students. ... He also decided that the product should retail for around 35,000 yen to make it affordable for young people. This was as far as the market research went, as Morita firmly believed “customers can not say they want a product that they haven’t imagined before”. He was convinced of its merits even though many said that people wouldn’t by it if It didn’t record, and this was enough to push the product along.
Although the Walkman was convinced by the two co-founders, it was Oshone and his design team who had to extrapolate a manufactured product from the concept in four months. ... During this time there were several developments in the design, notably with the headphones and the features of the product. Until that point all headphones available were the large, heavy “earmuff” style Oshone decided that having such large headphones would not only look ridiculous but would detract considerably from the portability and convenience of the Walkman. ... Now that the product was completely practical the team set about addressing issues that could arise from such a new concept. ...
The design of the product is almost entirely based on the materials available.
Approximate Word count = 2392
Approximate Pages = 9.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
|
|
|
|
|
|