Ben Shopper
May 24, 2013
The Form and Functionality of Headphones
The integration of both good form and good function has always played a critical role in the designing and manufacturing of headphones. The advent of new technologies, as well as easily accessible consumer feedback, has allowed for the creation of increasingly better products.
Since their creation at the end of the nineteenth century, headphones have gone through many changes. The audiences towards which headphones have catered to as well as their shape and size have changed with the times. Originally, headphones were intended for use by telephone operators. These primitive headphones, created in the 1880s, weighed up to a debilitating eleven pounds. It was not until roughly a decade later that a pair of headphones were created for the sole purpose of entertainment. The Electrophone system of the 1890s allowed wealthy subscribers to listen to opera performances or church sermons from the comfort of their own homes. The system used multiple hidden microphones installed in front of the floodlights in opera houses. In churches the microphones were disguised as bibles. These microphones sent the audio to headphone like receivers in the homes of subscribers. These receivers bore a resemblance to stethoscopes and were held in a similar fashion to opera glasses. In 1910, Nathaniel Baldwin created the first pair of headphones that bare a resemblance to those of today. Baldwin sold his idea to the U.S. Navy, but his design led the way for better consumer products. Starting in 1937 with the german company Beyerdynamic, new improvements on headphones were made. As a result, new variations of headphones were created, each one being a slight improvement on the last. In 1958 however, the jazz musician John C. Koss revolutionized the headphone industry. With the newly created duel-groove Stereo LPs being all the rage, Koss invented the first pair of stereo headphones, the Koss SP-3. Over the next couple of decades, Koss headphones dominated the market. Throughout the 1960s, Koss’s headphones became much lighter, weighing three to five pounds which was quite impressive for the time. In 1963 Koss had Tony Bennett, a popular singer at the time, endorse their products. This was the beginning of celebrity endorsed headphones, a trend that has persisted to this day. Having a pair of headphones endorsed by not only a celebrity, but a celebrity that is known for their musical talent inspires people to buy the headphones. Because of the celebrity’s musical talent, the endorsement also acts as a testament to the products quality. People believe that if a pair of headphones is endorsed by a singer, the singer has good judgement of sound quality and thus would not endorse a product with poor sound quality. Unfortunately, this development also led to some sub-par products that used celebrity popularity to sell well rather than product quality. A prime example of this was the Koss Beatlephones. These headphones with merely a Beatles sticker on them, but because of the immense popularity of the Beatles, they were incredibly successful.
As the 1970s came to a close, the world of headphones went through another major metamorphosis. In 1979, Sony released the Walkman, the first playback-only portable cassette player. As the age of music portability dawned, Sony also revolutionized the world of headphones with their MDR-3L2. Because Walkmans were meant to be used on the go, existing headphones were much too heavy. The MDR-3L2 were much lighter than the headphones that existed prior to the release of the Walkman and therefore much better for listening to music on the go. Sony release these new headphones to the market, but also included them free with the Walkman. The Walkman and the MDR-3L2 led to an era of lightweight headphones. These new lightweight headphones did not require as many parts or as much material as previous headphones, and as a result they could be sold for much less. Most of these headphones had foam padding on the earpieces and were made of thin pieces of metal and plastic. Earbuds also emerged around this time, although they were not nearly as popular then as they are today. In 1997, Sony released the first pair of neckband headphones. These served as an alternative to earbuds which many people found uncomfortable or even painful to wear over long periods of time and hard to keep in their ears.
In 2001, the world of portable music would once again be revolutionized. However, this time it was Apple rather than Sony that was the driving force of this change. In October of 2001 Apple announced their new MP3 player, the iPod. Along with the iPod came the now iconic white earbuds. Although earbuds had not been particularly popular in the past, as the iPod quickly dominated the market so did the new earbuds. In the past, most pairs of headphones were either black or a brightly colored. The sleek white and silver coloration, soft edges and blurring of the line between geometric and organic of the iPod and its earbuds was almost symbolic of the hopes and expectations that many people had for the future of technology at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It was not long before the Apple’s earbuds became almost as much as a symbol as Apple’s apple logo. The earbuds were even the predominant focus in Apple’s iconic silhouette iPod advertisements. Even with Apple’s recent release of the new EarPods for the iPhone 5, the headphones kept their sleek white look and visually remained very similar to their predecessors. Although the Apple earbuds became some of the most popular headphones on the market, they did not fix the problems that earbuds had presented from the start. Many people still found that earbuds hurt their ears and most people had difficulty making the earbuds stay in their ears, reaching the point where many people developed the habit of adjusting the earbuds even when there was no problem.
In 2008, the rapper Dr. Dre, partnered with the company Monster Cable, released a brand of headphones known as Beats by Dr. Dre. The release of Beats by Dr. Dre began a new flood of celebrity sponsored headphones similar to that of Koss and Tony Bennett in the 1960s. This reincarnation of celebrity headphones, however, had a much greater focus on the cultural and fashion trends set by celebrities, rather than just the celebrities themselves. Beats by Dr. Dre has also created a new wave of popularity for over-the-ear headphones as opposed to earbuds. Due to their greater focus on fashion and trends, these next generation headphones have become much more expensive than their predecessors. Despite the raise in cost, it is debatable whether the quality of the headphones has improved, once again bringing up the debate of form versus function.
Form, the way a product looks, and function, the way a product performs, are often at odds with each other. While both being crucial elements of design, they follow one another in a sequence. Form, then function. This is not to say that form is more important than function, many argue the opposite, it is merely to say that form plays its part before function does. When an everyday consumer walks into a store to buy a product, they usually do not get to use it. This prevents them for experiencing a product’s function. This means that the way they differentiate between products is based solely on visual appeal. Even in stores that allow customers to try out products on display, if the customer is drawn to the displayed product, it is based solely on the products form. Although form and function can come into conflict at times, they are both necessary for a good product. If a product does not look appealing to a potential buyer, it will not be purchased nor will it give the purchaser pride of ownership that makes a product a success. On the other hand, if a product does not function well, news of its poor functionality will spread and discourage subsequent purchase of the product as well as other products made by the same manufacturer, thus tarnishing the brand’s name. Therefore, to make the best product possible, designers strive to find the critical balance between form and function.
Although form and function need to be in balance with each other, they are not equal nor are their values static. As previously stated, form plays the biggest role; that is until the user picks up the product. As soon as the user begins to interact with a product, the products function becomes the dominant point of focus and the products form becomes all but irrelevant. When asked which he viewed as more important, form or function, product designer Justin Cumming said “Function. You can make form work with function. You need to balance both in harmony. People will remember a bad user experience rather than a bad form. If you make compromises for form, it gives a bad impression to the user and reflects poorly on the product and on yourself.” When it comes down to it, form’s role is predominantly to attract users and make them interact with the product. At the core of the product is its function; how the product works and its ability to do its job correctly and efficiently.
One aspect of design that is heavily focused on by designers is user interface. User interface is how people interact with a product. Examples of this would be a touch screen or a keyboard. User interface usually applies to technological devices such a smartphones, computers, and tablets. However, as more and more smart technology is replacing its predecessors, user interface is becoming increasingly important. With Apple’s release of the iPhone in 2006, touch-based user interface spread like wildfire in the design world. This new type of user interface opened countless opportunities. As touch-based user interface has become more commonplace, the future of user interface appears to lie in voice-based and motion-based technology. Apple’s Siri is a prime example of a voice-based user interface. By talking to Siri, iPhone users can interact with their phone to send messages, search the internet, add appointments to their calendar, and other such tasks. Although Siri is an impressive piece of technology, it is nowhere near reaching the potential of voice-based technology. It is hoped that in the future, people will be able to use their voice to interact with technology similar to that of the artificial intelligence capable of intelligent conversation know as HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey or the virtual butler Jarvis of Marvel's Iron Man.
An important part of industrial design is making sure that a product fulfils the needs of the user. When designing a product it is important to look for a problem that the product can fix or a niche that it can fill. One of the most popular and innovative product that has recently emerged is the Square. The Square is a smartphone attachment that reads credit cards and debit cards. The Square allows small businesses to accept payment via credit or debit cards on the go, removing the constraints of a stationary register and facility. It also makes it easy for smaller businesses to accept credit or debit cards. Because more and more shoppers are paying with cards rather than cash, Square prevents these users from missing out on business from any card paying customers. One of reasons that Square is so successful is that it found a problem, the lack of mobility and ability to take credit and debit cards of small businesses, and provided a simple yet effective solution.
One of the most important design elements is mapping. In design, mapping is how the elements of the product are laid out to ensure the most intuitively use of the product. For example, a remote control with perfect mapping would not require the user to read an instruction manual nor would it have labels for the buttons. It would not even have buttons shaped like the symbols for start, pause, fast forward, rewind, etc. The user would simply pick up the remote and know exactly how to operate it. Although making a product completely intuitive is nigh impossible, it is every designer’s goal for their product to come as close as possible to this balance.
Consumers do not always use products in the way that they are intended to be used. For example, many people choose to wrap their earbuds around the back of their head and hook them over their ears. This is done to help prevent the common problem where earbuds fall out of the users ears. As a product designer, it is important to observe how people interact with a product. By observing how a consumer naturally interacts with a product, a designer can gain insight into how to make a products design most intuitive to the user. For example, imagine that a designer was designing a handheld device. When testing the prototype with a test subject, the test subject picks up the handheld device and holds it in way that the designer never intended. It may be that holding it that way might be the most comfortable way for users to interact with the device, rather than the way it was originally designed for aesthetic appeal. After observing this interaction between user and device, the designer could then integrate the prefered way of handling the device into its final design. Often times users will say that they interact with a product in a certain way, and then upon observation, are seen using the product in a different way that they themselves did not even realize they did. Observations in which this trend occurs can yield some of the most important information that a designer can obtain. These natural interactions that even the user is unaware of demonstrate the most intuitive interaction with the product. If a designer has this information, they can make a product that interacts with its user in the most pleasing way possible.
Color plays a major role in a product’s form. Color can easily be used to invoke an emotion in a potential purchaser of a product and different colors can be used to invoke different emotions. For example, the color green is associated with money, wealth, and nature, while red is associated with energy and boldness. Interestingly, colors have a physical effect on the beholder. Red increases a persons heart rate while green calms a person. Different genders react to colors differently. While men tend to dislike purple, women tend to prefer it. Therefore, if a pair of headphones were being designed for a male audience, then it would be a bad idea to make said headphones purple.
One of the greatest sources of inspiration for designers is nature. The quintessential example of this is the use of the golden ratio. The golden ratio (1:1.61803...) is a ration that shows up all throughout nature. It can be seen in the spiral of a Chambered Nautilus and in the branch and leaf layout of many trees. The golden ratio, represented by the greek letter phi, also appears multiple time in the human body. In the “ideal” body, most perfectly demonstrated in Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, the golden ration is present in the relationship between the length from the elbow to the fingertips and the length from the elbow to their wrist, the distance between the pupils in comparison to the width of the face, and the height of the skull in relationship to the width of the abdomen. Not only is the golden ratio visually apparent in the the human body, it is also present in the internal workings. Double stranded B-DNA has a major groove and a minor groove. The relationship between these two grooves can be broken down into the golden ratio. The golden ratio also appears in fruit, hurricanes, spiral galaxies, and is very similar to the fibonacci series.
While the golden ratio is present all throughout nature, it is not is not merely capricious whimsy that causes designers to use it. The predominant reason for the use of the golden ration, is its visual appeal. The reason the golden ratio is so visually appealing, is because things that incorporate the golden ratio into their form are easiest for the eyes to scan and then transfer to the brain. According to mechanical engineering Professor Adrian Bejan of Duke University,
[W]e don’t want to get headaches while we are scanning and recording and understanding things... Shapes that resemble the golden ratio facilitate the scanning of images and their transmission through vision organs to the brain. Animals are wired to feel better and better when they are helped and so they feel pleasure when they find food or shelter or a mate. When we see the proportions in the golden ratio, we are helped. We feel pleasure and we call it beauty. (McVeigh)
Because of the effect that the golden ratio has on the brain, it has been incorporated into everyday life. Thousands of commercial logos contain the golden ratio in order to attract customers. Many products also utilize it. When it comes down to it, the most beautiful designs are those created by nature.
The creation of the internet has revolutionized the way human beings interact with the world. In only twenty years, people have gained access to a cornucopia of knowledge with the push of a button, or rather, the touch of a screen. While this wondrous new technology has limitless applications for the future of mankind, it has also created a plethora of new obstacles as well as tools for the world of product design. The general public's ability to access a nearly infinite amount of knowledge hands consumers a powerful tool: product reviews. Websites like Amazon allow for buyers to rate the product they have just bought as well as write a review about it. While good reviews have the ability to help a product sell well, a negative review carries more weight and has a greater effect than a positive one. This is primarily due to people's tendency to complain or criticize something rather than to compliment or praise something. Brand Reputation CEO Graeme Crossley states that “‘A customer that has a good experience will typically tell 3 to 5 people, but a customer who has a poor experience will tell more than 20’” (Keane). He later goes on to explain how when this is applied to the internet, the effects are on a much greater scale. For example: suppose that rather than one reviewing consumer it was one hundred consumers. One hundred satisfied consumers spread word of their satisfaction with a product to between three hundred and five hundred potential consumers online. This would be a wonderful thing for the creators of the product. Now suppose that one hundred unsatisfied consumers spread word of their dissatisfaction with a product to two thousand or more potential consumers. This could be disastrous for any product. Imagine that four hundred people bought a product. While three-fourths of the people who bought this product were happy with their product, one-fourth were displeased with their purchase. The pleased three-fourths, or three hundred people, spread their positive reviews to one thousand five hundred people. However, the dissatisfied one-fourth, or one hundred people, spread their negative reviews to two thousand people. Now while only one-fourth of the consumers were unhappy, if one were to look at what was being said about the product on the internet, it would appear that roughly 57% of the consumers were dissatisfied. Although this is far from the truth, future consumers are likely to look elsewhere for their products.
Another way in which the internet has been a game changer is that product reviews have forced companies to be more accountable for their products. 10 years ago, one would go out to buy something, in this case a pair of headphones, and look at the models on display or in their packaging. At this point, the buyer would have to choose the headphones they were going to buy, based solely on the look of the product itself or its packaging. The buyer might then go home and put the headphones, only to find that they are cheaply made and functions poorly. Even if their headphones work fine at first, after a month they might break down. Now the buyer has wasted their money and is stuck with broken headphones. With the advent of the internet, however, online product reviews allow potential buyers to research a product before buying it. If a company makes a product that breaks down after a month, it will get poor reviews and will not be bought. On the other hand, if a product functions well and does not have to be replaced by the buyer for years, the product will get good reviews and will be widely purchased.
Although the internet creates difficulties for product designers, it also presents them with invaluable new tools. As previously stated, product reviews can make or break a product. However, product reviews can be a wonderful form of research. By looking at the reviews of existing products, designers are able to see what users liked and disliked about a product. Sometimes reviewers will even touch on how they would improve the product. This allows designers to compile a list of the various traits that consumers love, hate, or desire in a product. With this information, designers can design a product that contains the positive aspects of other products while leaving out those that consumers found to be displeasing.
The internet also provides designers with access to countless other types of information, not just product reviews. In order to make a product appeal to consumers, it is necessary for designers to keep up to date with even the most fleeting popular trends and fads of their consumers. If, for instance, light blue was all the rage, it might behoove designers to design a pair of headphones that is light blue. However, it might be even smarter to design a pair of headphones that is light green or teal, both colors that go well with light blue. This would allow the headphones to go well with all of the popular light blue products, not be seen as just another product trying to leech in on a trend, and to not be discarded during post-trend purging.
When designing a product, it is important for designers to keep up to date with emerging technologies. Another one of the internet’s many benefits is its ability to keep designers on top these technologies. Websites like sciencedaily.com and assorted news sites can reveal new inovative technologies as well as materials that can be incorporated into new products. For instance, if a scientist creates a new material that changes color based on vibrations, it can be used to design a pair of headphones that change color according to the vibrations given off by the music the wearer is currently listening to.
As consumers become ever more environmentally conscious, the demand for eco-friendly products continues to grow. This has led to an increase in products that are made from eco-friendly materials. One material in particular has become increasingly commonplace, and that material is wood. Wood has been used to make products for eons. However, the wood that is being used for these environmentally friendly products are sustainable and are reverting to a less and less polished and treated state. For example, a chair was recently designed made out of chopped wood assembled into a square shape. By doing this, the designer created a product that was not only environmentally friendly, but looked environmentally friendly. Aesthetically, it was also very appealing, containing lots of negative space as well as a combination of geometric and organic shapes. Although many designers are using eco-friendly materials to meet the needs of their eco minded consumers, some are approaching the situation from the other end of the spectrum, reusing materials to create products. One designer created a chair that was made completely out of old bicycle and motorcycle parts. While it was not made of environmentally friendly materials, by reusing materials, he created an environmentally friendly product.
While the creation of eco-friendly materials has become a goal for many companies, many of them find that it is a goal that they can not reach. Although it may seem counter intuitive, recycled materials tend to be very expensive. In her article Why Are Recycled-Content Products So Expensive?, author Mary Mazzoni explains that recycled materials “must first be washed, spruced up and sewn together before it can be made into new products” (Mazzoni). Mazzoni goes on to explain that the process of recycling used materials into a state in which they can be used to create a new product takes much more time and energy than most consumers are aware of. Because recycled materials go through more production steps than newly created materials, companies that use them are forced to charge more for products made of recycled materials in order to make a profit. Therefore, recycled materials can cost up to three times as much as newly created material. Another challenge that is present for manufacturers is that “using recycled materials is a relatively recent development in many industries” (Mazzoni). Because of its recent development, the process of recycling materials is not as finely tuned or streamlined as the manufacturing of new materials. Product designer Justin Cumming remarked that “A lot of companies aspire to be eco-friendly, but the realities around the effort are preventing companies from doing it. There aren’t enough benefits for companies to do it” (Cumming). Justin went on to say that although most companies can not become completely eco-friendly, many companies’ design teams are personally driven to be as eco-friendly as possible. One of the ways in which designers are making their products more eco-friendly is by making their products easy to disassemble so that the individual parts can be recycled.
With the creation of innovative technologies, the field of industrial design has been forced to shift and to adapt to the emerging challenges . Designers have embraced the new tools that have come with these changes, and created new ones to overcome the fresh challenges that have occurred as well. However, despite all these changes, the balance between form and function still lies at the heart of industrial design.
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