Product & Experience Design for Consumer Audio Brand

Product & Experience Design for Consumer Audio Brand

Bang & Olufsen Innovates A Concept for Socially Distanced Music Sharing to Connect People Amidst Pandemic

Client

Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is a high-end luxury consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures various products. Inspired by COVID, they have an idea to make a product that brings people together while considering their environment and social distancing restrictions. B&O wants the product to allow users to share their music and its audio experience.

Problem

With the assumption that music consumption would increase during the pandemic, Bang & Olufsen aimed to turn a seemingly unfortunate situation into an opportunity to reduce the feeling of isolation caused by the pandemic. In doing so, they hoped to expand their brand and product line.

User & Audience

This product aimed to attract new customers to Bang & Olufsen while enticing existing customers. User personas were created to understand Bang & Olufsen's existing audience so that the product could be tailored to them, with the hope of attracting new like-minded customers.

Scope & Constraints

The project's scope entailed designing and introducing a new product that could be incorporated into the client's product line and mobile app. The product needed to meet functional requirements and be suitable for various environments and social settings, while also considering and adapting to limitations during and after Covid.

Role & Responsibilities

As the only designer on the project, I was responsible for every aspect of the design process. Alongside collaborating with the stakeholders to form the product, my responsibilities included conducting research, iterative ideation, creating wireframes and sketches, and developing prototypes.

Integrating Social Enterprise Thinking to Drive Clever Solution for Bang & Olufsen

Social enterprise thinking involves balancing financial benefits with social goals and prioritizing people's interests. This methodology was employed to develop a solution for Bang & Olufsen, as it is inherently human-focused and the project had a significant social component. Given the substantial requirement for functionality, the human-centered design approach was used as a framework for each step of the design thinking process, effectively completing the project using social enterprise thinking.

Ideation Refinement
Further Developed the Function and Form of the Product's Design

After selecting the general form from the initial ideation, a third round of ideation was conducted to further refine the function and form of each aspect of the product.

The ideation refinement process produced sketches of both the speaker and the charging base. These sketches were instrumental in determining the size and placement of their external components, including how the speaker's bottom would rest on top of the charging base and the positioning of outputs on the charging base.

The ideation refinement process led to sketches of the internal structure designed to house both the internal components and the auxiliary Bluetooth connectors.

The ideation refinement process resulted in two-point perspective sketches depicting the form of the auxiliary Bluetooth connectors.

The ideation refinement process produced sketches of both the speaker and the charging base. These sketches were instrumental in determining the size and placement of their external components, including how the speaker's bottom would rest on top of the charging base and the positioning of outputs on the charging base.

The ideation refinement process led to sketches of the internal structure designed to house both the internal components and the auxiliary Bluetooth connectors.

The ideation refinement process resulted in two-point perspective sketches depicting the form of the auxiliary Bluetooth connectors.

Brand Research Resumed
To Enhance Product Integration with Existing Mobile App Experience

Brand research was resumed to understand the structure and user experience design of Bang & Olufsen's mobile app, allowing for the appropriate incorporation of the product and its features.

As a result of the mobile app research, the overall structure of the app was uncovered, revealing five to six major pages and their content. The navigation bar consists of a home page where users connect and manage their devices, a music page with recommendations for artists, songs, and playlists, and a radio page where users can select and listen to various radio stations. The header alternates between the settings page, profile page, search page, and favorites page, ensuring easy access to these features.

The research revealed that the mobile app utilizes a floating navigation system when a device is connected. This navigation allows users to access the device, adjust the volume, and utilize multiroom functionality to expand to other devices

As a result of the mobile app research, the overall structure of the app was uncovered, revealing five to six major pages and their content. The navigation bar consists of a home page where users connect and manage their devices, a music page with recommendations for artists, songs, and playlists, and a radio page where users can select and listen to various radio stations. The header alternates between the settings page, profile page, search page, and favorites page, ensuring easy access to these features.

The research revealed that the mobile app utilizes a floating navigation system when a device is connected. This navigation allows users to access the device, adjust the volume, and utilize multiroom functionality to expand to other devices

Sitemap Ideation
Enhances Existing Mobile App Structure to Include New Features

A sitemap was used to reimagine the structure of the mobile app so that new features of the product could be incorporated. This was completed in three phases, an initial sitemap, a refined version of the initial sitemap, and the final sitemap that was improved from the previously refined sitemap.

The initial sitemap was created by hand to quickly and efficiently visualize the application's architecture. This approach led to brainstorming a sitemap that could accommodate the new product's features while considering the user's needs and preferences of what to engage with and where.

After creating the initial sitemap, it was refined to better align with the mobile features of the final solution. The refinements included rearranging content on the home and music library pages and adding a settings page. These changes led to the final version, which fully integrates the new product's features while remaining consistent with the problem statement and the existing application. Following these revisions, the sitemap was digitized for improved visibility and comprehension.

The initial sitemap was created by hand to quickly and efficiently visualize the application's architecture. This approach led to brainstorming a sitemap that could accommodate the new product's features while considering the user's needs and preferences of what to engage with and where.

After creating the initial sitemap, it was refined to better align with the mobile features of the final solution. The refinements included rearranging content on the home and music library pages and adding a settings page. These changes led to the final version, which fully integrates the new product's features while remaining consistent with the problem statement and the existing application. Following these revisions, the sitemap was digitized for improved visibility and comprehension.

Solution Meets Client Expectations, Receives Positive Feedback, and is deemed viable for Launch

In the end, the project successfully met the client's expectations, who were pleased with the solution and provided positive feedback. Although they had some technical concerns about the features, they were confident in their ability to resolve them. Overall, the client felt that the solution had strong potential as a viable product for launch.

This project deepened my appreciation for the time and effort involved in creating high-end products. It proved to be a valuable addition to the Bang & Olufsen product line, with strong potential for market success.