During market research two major opportunity markets were identified. The first opportunity is to design a smart earphone focusing on the Entertainment market segment. The second opportunity is to develop a smart earphone for the Fitness industry.Market opportunity research was done considering direct competitors who have a similar target with Band & Olufsen.

By laying out many products of B&O I was able to understand the design language they pursue which is very simple, authentic, innovative and stylish with timeless design in their products.

It’s always inspiring to see the existing products in the market and study how they are constructed in terms of technical feasibility and design for manufacturing.

Keywords for the moodbaord came from Bang & Olufsen’s product history and market research. As a final mood direction; the keywords smart, entertainment and emotion were chosen.

During the ideation process I tried to explore a different form than B&O has and at the same time keep the design elements which were incorporated from B&O design language research. The challenge was to design a family product which is very unique, different and at the same time following the same design language of the Beoplay line-up.

During the exploration stage of form I went viral and went very wild in terms of shape and at the end chose the potential ideas and refined them by exploring different forms, shapes and by adding design details.

I tried many prototypes by considering both aesthetics and usability of the product. The final design had to be as usable and functional as it was beautiful. Testing for usability gave more insights on improving design. Sometimes the usability shaped the product’s aesthetics.

The final outcome came out with main light black color with a golden ring which works as a premium element. Simple and sophisticated design follows its ancestors aesthetic. The design intent was to not go too far from the last version of Beoplay.

The design element on the side of the earphone was shaped by Beoplay H5 and it works as a great support to the ear by sitting right on top of the tragus.

Simple lines of this design made it look very minimal and clean which follows the design language of Bang & Olufsen line-up.

Several foam and then 3D printed parts were tested to ensure a great experience of storing the earphones. The main design intent was to make it very compact and desirable.

Since the market focus was on Entertainment and Smart the final CMF was considered to follow the current trends of CMF in the Entertainment field.

The design element on the side of the earphone was shaped by Beoplay H5 and it works as a great support to the ear by sitting right on top of the tragus.