I believe it is a great time to be a product designer for many reasons. Two particularly significant ones are 3D printing and crowd-funding. The first lets you rapidly create a physical prototype of your idea, modify it and adjust it as many times as you see fit at reduced costs and times. The second helps you out, if and when your product is ready for mass production. NYC-based B-hold designer Susan Taing is taking full advantage of these opportunities with her new Bheard Sound Pod system.
She developed the original and stylish sound pod going through a series of new iterations, which progressively yielded better results. The very first of these was a “Pringles” box. Taing discovered that her iPhone sounded much better when inserted inside an opening cut out from the box It was a natural amplifier and she set out to replicate the system in a more elegant way.
The Bheard Sound Pod is the result of that research, which went through many different 3D printed evolutions (37 in six weeks to be precise) at the Bhold Labs rapid prototyping and beta testing program, before going into personalized 3D printed production and retailed on B-hold’s Shapeways store.
Available for $55 nylon in laser sintered nylon with finishes in seven different colors – or for $75 in flexible polished white and polished metallic finishes – it weighs less than one ounce and is only 3.2” wide but it can be used with pretty much any smartphone (except, maybe the iPhone 6 Plus and other small tablets). It might seem strange for such a simple design but it does miracles to the quality of the speaker sound with no current or electronics involved, just sheer design power.
Now Susan is ready to take her creation to the masses and has launched a Kickstarter campaign, which saw her Bheard systems chosen as a Kickstarter Staff Pick. The mass produced pod will be available for as little as $33 to the first backers although its uniqueness and “3Dprintability” might make it a better fit for the Shapeways store, as the project still needs to raise close to 80% of its funding goal with roughly one week left to go.
However if you want to just get done with your holiday shopping early, Taing also offers a $1000 support package which includes all the original items on Bhold (including the Bholdable ceramics 3D printed coffee set we covered a few months back). It might be your last opportunity to exclusively get your hands on them before everyone else does too.
An example of a good design process? 37 different designs in 6 weeks! Sure design is a process that benefits from experimentation and prototyping but it is also about making proper decisions, understanding the laws of physics and engineering and surely doing more with less. This is an example of extravagant playing and not an example of good design at all.
I like the design, but there are cheap amplified speakers available for less money than this. In addition, there are many designs which work just as well available for free on Thingiverse. I guess I don’t see this selling at $33. If it was under $10, perhaps.