BEOGRAM ENCOREGIVE YOUR RECORDS AN ENCORE PERFORMANCE

JOSEPH SANCHEZ DSID 128 F11 SPEER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROBLEM STATEMENTBOOMER RESEARCHINITIAL EXPLORATIONPERSONA MARKET RESEARCHBRANDINGCONCEPT REFINEMENTFINAL MODELINTERFACE

PROBLEM STATEMENT

CREATE A PRODUCT THAT CATERS TO THE “ACTIVE” LIFESTYLE OF A BABY BOOMER IN THE YEAR 2020. ACTIVE MEANING EMOTIONALLY, PHYISCALLY, OR MENTALLY DYNAMIC

“Baby Boomers are worried about staying young — looking well, eating well and living well. They are interested in getting their children through college and paying for a high quality of life. They work long, hard days. They are concerned about their health and their fitness. They seek convenience, speed and quality for a reasonable cost. They are at the peak of their personal and professional lives — and at the peak of their spending habits. With retirement looming on their horizons, they seek retailers and service providers who can meet their demands for customer service, ease of purchase, flexibility, high performance and efficiency.”

- www.missourbusiness.net

BABY BOOMERS

Boomers are pioneers. The have ignited and lead social change, revolutions, and forged a path to the time that we live in now. At the core of the generation, they are about keeping their appearances and lifestyle without sacrificing convieince. This is seen in most aspects of their lives, from the laws they have passed to products being created.

looking at marketing websites such as, onehourbookkeeper.com, an independent business advice blog, have listed their top 10 prediciton of the boomer market for 2010 in 2006 their list consisted of:

(1) sense of humor(2) calling the shots(3) good relationships with their kids(4) they have the resources to spend(5) retire at an older age(6) hold on to their youth(7) political change(8) shift in career/sources of income(9) staying current yet accessible(10) discerning and loyal

Now in 2010 its interesting to see that the market has actually shifted in that direction, with companies such as oil of olay appealing to their need to hold on to their youth, target pharmacy allowing them to call the shots by making their mecication more easily accesible allowing for autonomy, and lincon appealing to the boomers need to be current and accesible.

BOOMER TRENDS

EMPATHIC RESEARCH

1

time/task action obstacle 7:20 getting into the car/driving to school

I got to get my keys out of my pocket, find the right key, and tried to put the key in, but I completely missed. After I opened the door I set down the phone and sunglasses in my hand, it was hard to bend my knees and back. I unlocked the back door and I put the bags in, the elbows were hard to move. Then I got into the drivers seat extremely difficult. Put my sunglasses on, which was also hard. put the key into the ignition and turned the engine and drove.

the bulk added to my body made it hard to get the keys out of my tight pocket. I completely missed the door when trying to insert the key. I opened the door which was the least difficult task, putting the bags down in the back was the 2nd hardest task, hands above shoulders is a hard maneuver to do. The hardest task was getting into the car where I actually struggled to bend my legs and pull myself up.

things such as key holes could be indicated better, some sort of way to lift the bags would be beneficial and also bigger toggles and places to grip would be essential

solutions

Activity: Getting in the Car

AnalysisWhen I taped up to “age” my body, it was a very interesting experience. Just in the process of taping up I could just feel my demeanor change a lot, these feelings were amplified when I went around doing other things while taped up. I was a lot more self conscious of what I could and could not do. When I actually preformed my task, it felt as if it took twice as long to do the task the first time around. It brings the importance of thinking about making things that are accessible and aid in the process of everyday life without making it feel like a tool.

To fully understand the boomer market, I participated in empathic research, where we had done one task as ourselves, and the same task as ourselves in the future. In order to to simulate the effects of aging, I wore multiple layers of clothing and taped up my joints. I wore gloves and taped the fingers. Not even beginning the task. I already felt the effects.

During this time I found myself to be more self-conscious than I was normally due to my physical limitations. I was able to fully empathize with the need to feel younger than you acutally are and used that as a jumping off point during my initial exploration.

IN THEIR SHOES

1. getting and choosing the right key

2. inserting the key into the door

3. missing the door, and having to re-insert the key

4. putting cell phone and glasses in the cup holder

5. unlocking the door

6. opening the passenger side door placing bags in the back (one by one)

7. pulling myself into the car and situating my body

8. struggle to reach and pull the door closed

9. stuggle to get and put the sunglasses on

10. actually get them on and check myself

11. turning the ignition

Activity Breakdown: Getting in the Car

“PUT ON YOUR OWN OXYGEN MASK FIRST BEFORE HELPING OTHERS.”

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR WELLBEING

1) Maintain healthy eating habits

2) Get consistent sleep. 

3) Commit to regular exercise. 

4) Set aside 15-30 minutes for every

day for relaxation.

5) Breathe deeply.

6) Listen to music.

7)De-clutter your house and your life. 

8) Laugh as much as possible. 

INITIAL EXPLORATIONKeeping in mind the feeling of self consciousnes that had risen through the empathic exercise and the fact that boomers will not be able to retire when they wanted, I explored the concept of how to retire without retiring. Mainly, how to take care of oneself. The ideation ran the gamut of how to take care of yourself and later focused on 3 ways specifically.

6) LISTEN TO MUSIC.

3) COMMIT TO REGULAR EXERCISE. 

Listening to music was something

that is big for the boomer

generation considering they had

watched the evolution of music

in America go from the crooners

of the WWI to the Rock and Roll

of the Beatles. Something that

mixed the nostalgia of records and

modern technology was explored

Commiting to regular exercise is

someting that is also important

to the boomer generation, with

a myriad of ailments that may

appear as a result of their crazy

lifestyles it would be important to

stress this. The Concepts ranged

from a light up yoga mat to a

virtual mirror trainer.

Seeing how the lifestyle of the boomer

generation had redefined the nuclear family,

I explored the coffee table as a means of

redefining the center of a household and

dealing with generational gaps.

7)DE-CLUTTER YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR LIFE. 

RELAXATION THROUGH MUSIC“Baby Boomers have a high level of interest in both health and value, but they also still like the idea of having a little fun with the products they purchase. ‘Sometimes it’s not about health or practicality,’

- Boomers & Technology: An Extended converstaiotn, AARP

The combination of the empathic exercise, the list of ways to take care of your well being had lead me to choose music. It has the quality to change your mood and keep you mentally and emotionally healthy regardless of how old or young you are, but still had a strong connection to the boomer generation. I looked specifically at the record player seeing as its one of the most iconic images of the boomer generation.

changes clothes, gets ready to some more work at home looks at music

gets home after a crazy day at the office

looks through collection and “puts on” a record. in a fun interactive way

the music and record player create an appropriate atmosphere to do a little work and relax

STORY BOARD

or Jim, he was born in June of ‘54 in California and he is 57 years young. He has lived all over the state but is currently in the Bay Area. Married with 2 kids that are about graduate from college. His small construction company has gone off to a small start but looks promising. Even after working all day with his crew, Jim enjoys dirt biking, sailing, skiiing, jogging and is fairly tech savvy.

THIS IS JIMMY

10 years later, Jim’s doing well for himself. Recently divorced, he currently resides in Santa Cruz. His 2 kids are both married, 1 with 2 kids and the other is expecting. He sees them often. His small construction company is thriving and he has sold half. However due to unforeseen back injury he has been forced to slow down, from working on site to running the office. His outdoor activities have been limited to biking and light jogging due to his back, is now looking for new ways to take care of himeslf and spend his time.

THIS COLLECTION OF IMAGES IS A COLLECTION OF JIM’S TASTES, PREFERENCES AND INTERESTS

Before I began to ideate concepts based on the record player. I had to be aquainted with one. I borrowed a turntable and console and used it, and I began to empathize and build a relationship with the music playing. I found myself amused and also disdained with the level of involvement that the player required, but mostly in love with the process. To fully understand the ceremony involed with playing records I broke the process down and created a list of pro’s and con’s

PLAYING THE PART

1. go through records

2. pick a record & take it out

3. pull paper sleeve out of album cover

4. pull record out of paper sleeve

5. put the record on the turn table

PUTTING ON THE RECORD

6. select speed

7. move stylus & place it on the record

8. adjust the levels

9. enjoy music!

10. flip record

- music is carefully selected

-creates an ambient mood

- interaction with artifact and & machine (record and player)

- more fun than a cd player or a tape cassette

- it is an active listening experience

- its kinetic nature makes it more unique than other older methods of playing music

PROS CONS- music playing will only be that artist in particular

- it is a HIGHLY involved process

- record can skip

- needle is easily broken

- the player is just there when not in use

- the ablum art is gorgeous, never displayed as record played and just tossed aside

- uses with old records

- is as involved as a record player but not as time consuming or volitile

- displays record and the movement as it plays

- displays the album art

- creates ambience & an environment

PROJECT GOALS

looking at the sequence of events and the list of pros and cons of using a record player I created a list of goals that I want the project to achieve. I want to create an object that:

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tacky

sophisitcated

OPPORTUNITY

ON RECORDLooking at the wold of record players and

where they are heading, a lot of record players

either look super retro, exceedingly technical,

or absolutely minimalistic. A common list of

features include:

- CD Player

- Record Recording

- USB connection

- AM/FM Connection

Its interesting to see where the record player

is heading for the future, because record

players now are either exceedingly specialized

(turntables for DJS) or a retro novelty. What

is missing is a record player that takes into

account features that a casual user like a baby

boomer would want or use.

PAST PRESENT & FUTUREWhen looking for things to integrate into the concept

I looked for interesting trends in record players

that happened around the 80’s when the boomer

generation were in the position to spend money on

cool things, but might have not been able to afford

it. So after finding a myriad of vertical record players

such as the Sony PS-F5 & PS-f9, and their increasing

collectors value I thought it would be interesting to

explore. Presently, there are algorithms that we use all

the time to discorver music and keep a specific kind of

mood going for long periods of time, such as Pandora

and Spotify, I thought that it would be a good way for

boomers to explore music also. In terms of the future,

semi transparent OLED screens are somthing that

would provide a way to display digital information and

allow the actual artifact of the record and album art to

still be displayed properly

EXPLORATION developing the record player, I tried to use retro codes to make it relevant to boomers, when I realized how it sort of steerd the concept in the wrong direction, I began to just explore how display the album art and work with a digital interface

I went from large retro pieces, referencing the 50s 60s and the 70s to heading towards a more simplistic shape that would be wall mounted with hints of retro but staying mostly modern

EXPLORATION

BANG & OLUFSENKeeping in mind the look that I was going for,

Bang & Olufsen was a great choice. It provided

me with a few points:

- it was a higher end brand that had existed as

boomers were growing up, and is still cutting

edge today

- the vintage pieces were essentially timeless

- they are already producing products that

would point to them creating something along

these lines

In terms of styling, I would reference the

vintage codes, but honor the modern materials

and color story

Taking off where I had left off with the simplistic modern shape with vintage references and choosing B&O, I re-evaluated my goals stressing the display of both the record and the album sleeve, I went with this configuration and mocked it up

REFINEMENT

MOCK UP 1In this mock up I was exploring

the idea of a simplistic monolithic

shape that would just look

discreet. In this model the digital

interface was the main and only

feature

MOCK UPS

MOCK UP 2In this mock up I was at the point

of wanting to include the physical

artifact of the record and the

display of the sleeve, messing with

the configuration that made the

record look like it was coming out

of the sleeve

MOCK UP 3In this mock up I was exploring

how to integrate the OLED touch

screen, and display the album

cover. The art would slide behind

the glass and the Record player

portion would move “in and out”

to fully expose the record and

display both objects in parallel

After the mock up process, I went back to my initial goals, and thought of how to enhance the experience and it lead me to this thumbnail

REFINEMENT

BEOGRAM ENCOREgive your records an encore performance

FINAL CONCEPT

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BEOGRAM ENCORE IS DISPLAYED ON YOUR WALL

INSERT YOUR RECORD INTO THE PLAYER

USER SEQUENCE

PLACE YOUR SLEEVE ONTO THE LEDGE

ENJOY THE RICH SOUND OF YOUR RECORD AS THE COVER GLOWS

USING BANG & OLUFSEN’S “MORE OF THE SAME” OR OTHER FEATURES, MAKE THE MUSIC LAST

INTERFACE 3

Choose the Radio option from the main menu

You cna view a list of stations based on similar artist or mood

INTERFACE: RADIO

INTERFACE 3

Album art, song title, and artist’s name are displayed as it currently plays, you can also see what’s next

When the song is done the information moves down, and you can see what was played, what is playing, and what is next

INTERFACE 1

Choose the Record Collection option from the main menu

You cna view your “Record Collection,” any full cd or recrod you own on the server by artist, mood, or similar artist

INTERFACE: “RECORD COLLECTION”

INTERFACE 1

Choose and enlarge the desired album and slide the “record” out of its sleeve and onto the player

Enjoy the album as the record in the player spins in the opposite direction, indicating that the interface is in use

INTERFACE 2

CHoose the Mixes option from the main menu

You cna view all a list of all your songs by either name, aritist, or mood

INTERFACE: MIXES

INTERFACE 2

Drag the song from the list into the customizable album art specially chosen by you

Enjoy the album as the record in the player spins in the opposite direction, indicating that the interface is in use

EXPLODED VIEW back plateinternal components(chips and power source)stylus motorupper housingfaceplateOLED displaystylus bottom wheel boardstylus bottom wheelstylusstylus railingstylus wheel stylus beltupper stylus plateupper styuls wheelstylus housing glass panelsvanity stylus wheel

FINAL MODEL