Product Design

I am a student which goes to sixth form and studies product design. I am currently making multi media speakers and have designed a variety of different speakers. The speaker I have recently finished making is done, but could use certain developments. Please feel free to share your ideas of any developments or just your opinion of the product. It has been made out of walnut. The interior which holds the speakers in place has been made from transparent acrylic.

Sure, but you’re not telling us a lot about the context in which your assignment is done, the vision for the product, the main requirements, etc. So it’s hard to give quality feedback that way.

At first glance it looks a little coarse and unfinished. The triangle cutout design element could work but it’s nothing unique, and I would make the cutout lines better parallel and better spaced relative to the outer edges of the panel. And probably give the edges a slight rounding for a friendlier appearance. Do you have some explorative work you could show to support your decision making process?

Also I’d prefer a small footprint for speakers since space for these things is usually limited. Then of course sound quality is for most of these products of paramount importance, depending also on how it’s intended to be put on the market. Could you tell a bit more about your assignment?

Hi melo,

Your design shows an awareness of some recent trends (faceting + natural materials). The shape and triangles seem a bit aggressive if you were hypothetically designing for a mass market, unless you’re going for the more niched and polarizing limited run/Esty crowd.A big part of design is making things look friendlier and gender neutral. Eliminating the trusses would go a long way to giving this product broader appeal. Your level of minimalism is good. Simplicity is a key ingredient to friendliness.

Does the cord attach to the front? Is it a dock, and if so, how does the design communicate that?
Does the shape and footprint align with where someone would want to put it/how they would use it?

Finally, presentation is everything. Right now the first read is the 20 years of stains and splatters on the table. The product reads like raw MDF because it’s on the same colored work table. Put it in an apartment with good lighting and post the difference! =)

Thank you for the helpful advice. Right now i’m only making a prototype so i didn’t expect everything to be perfect. What you see now in the picture is the view of the back of the product. And the dock which you mentioned has an extra piece to it which isn’t shown in the picture because i have only recently put it in. I will put a new picture up of the product very soon.

Also thanks for the helpful advice about the presentation of the product. I know the environment around the product doesn’t express the product in the best way but this is only because i took the picture in the work shop. But for future pictures i will try and find better suited place to take the picture.

Thanks again, i will be posting more pictures very soon. Would appreciate more criticism, advice on development and anything you can help me on to further develop the product

Hi Melo,
I agree, we need more context. Posting up a picture of the back of the product in the shop and saying “what do you think” will generate random feedback. ID is not just about creating a random housing for a speaker. Without any context; materials and shapes are just random.
It looks like your goal was to build a box around the speaker rather than design a product. Pay more attention to your detailing, placement and selection of cords and power buttons. Why is the cord so far to the left? The power button seems like you got it from Radio Shack.
I know you’re exited about building something that works. However, prototyping is towards the end of the design process. You should post more about your process so that you can get more constructive criticism.