Introduction

In this project we are exploring how can a home music player be designed from scratch in order to produce maximum value (personal, practical, social) in the life of the active music listener. UnlovedCD is a modular music player that can be hung on the wall of your place. It comes with an integrated CD player, a high-quality control knob, an OLED screen hidden below its dark plastic surface. Users can add a vinyl player, playback from SD cards, add their own speakers via Chromecast for wireless audio.

Process

We are using Quadruple Bottom Line of sustainable design (QBL) by Stuart Walker as an exercise to critique the design decisions in this project. The target group is active music curators, music addicts & music wanderers who enjoy listening to physical or digital full albums, occasionally or actively collect CDs, value highly their music picks & have taste in minimal design. Field research included market research and observation, 4 interviews, 1 survey with 11 respondents and the formation of 4 personas. Disassembled a portable DVD player to investigate its manufacturing and examine potential ways to reskin with my 3D printed model.

Industrial Design

The main objectives of the UnlovedCD design are subtleness, simplification, functionality and durability. Design references range from contemporary DIY projects (fig. 1) to Dieter Ram’s wall-hung TG60 tape recorder (fig. 6). These designs use concrete (fig. 1), glass (fig. 2, 3), or metal (fig. 3, 4, 5, 6) as a main material. We value highly the material of the artfiact, the feeling of the texture, the feeling to the touch. We want users to interact willingfully, thoughtlessly. The object must humbly exist within the home’s atmosphere, demand little to no attention, and be there when the user needs it. The outcome of the interaction has to be positive at all times. No bad feelings. No wrong actions. No unexpected feedback from the artifact. For this reason, I used Dieter Ram’s 10 Principles For Good Design to lead my design.