PIIQ and Jienne are new headphone/earbud series from Sony that debuted in 2010. The colorful PIIQ series was released several months ago in the USA (and eventually worldwide), and the Jienne series has not reached the USA. Both series of headphones and earphones indicate a bold new direction in headphone design, which Sony Design says is a “shift in focus of product development from utilitarian function to stylish form.” We couldn’t agree more. In this exclusive interview with Sony Design, we learn more behind the creative process behind Sony’s PIIQ and Jienne series.
Wada: Sony is one of the few manufacturers that can develop headphone drivers in-house. Over the years, we’ve also built up a wealth of expertise on ensuring a good fit. But what makes success difficult in the headphone market is that refined features alone won’t necessarily win consumer loyalty. Like genres of music, people’s tastes in headphones are amazingly diverse. No matter how impressive headphones sound or how comfortable they are, many people just won’t pick them up if they don’t like the design. And this is now a growing trend.
Headphones have always piqued people’s interest, and they’re a product that reflects personal tastes to an extreme. In this kind of product category, the user experience hinges on the thrill and satisfaction of finding and using headphones of your preferred design. That’s why, increasingly, designers must shift from traditional, function-oriented product development to design focused on people’s attitudes and sense of style. As a pioneer in styling products for sports and fitness enthusiasts, clubgoers, and others with special interests, Sony has responded to a range of diverse tastes for some time.
Two lines that emerged from this kind of development are PIIQ, inspired by urban “street” culture in the U.S., and Jienne, designed mainly with the tastes of Japanese women in mind. Here, we’ll discuss PIIQ first, a project based on local market research, and one that brought together Sony offices in U.S. and Japan for design.
Clark: We noticed something interesting when studying the U.S. headphone market. Sony sales were strong, and we hold a leading market share, but at the same time, some new brands were growing fast. In other words, these brands were carving out a new market without capturing Sony market share, which meant there was a segment we weren’t serving.
The people in this market segment are mainly teens into urban street culture. For insight on their lifestyles, we interviewed local skaters, surfers, DJs, and musicians. What did they think was cool? What influenced them, when finding out about and buying new products? Acting on what we learned, we worked with our Tokyo design team to decide what products they would like. Designers led all efforts in this project, from planning to promotion.
Clark: To reach people in our target market effectively, we needed a new brand. By itself, the Sony brand doesn’t resonate enough with younger generations who grew up around street culture. They recognize Sony quality but associate the brand with high-end products for older generations, not products this group uses every day.
So, the design team in the U.S. developed the PIIQ name and logo. It comes from peak, as in “highest point.” The PIIQ name stands for headphones that are made for younger generations taking on challenges and pushing limits in many ways.
At the same time, this group clearly appreciates the Sony brand itself, which is a distinct advantage in branding. PIIQ style, backed by Sony performance-help people make this connection, and they’ll know that the headphones not only look cool but are designed and built well.
Wada: For this reason, PIIQ logos appear in prominent positions on the headphones while Sony logos appear on the inner housing, plug tips, and other areas where they’re a reassuring reminder of Sony quality. This was like a slap in the face to our product managers, whose headphones have borne the Sony name for decades. But to establish a brand that stands for new ideals in both performance and style, it was unavoidable.
PIIQ product design was managed in Japan, but only because that’s where Rui was living at the time. He has lived in the U.S. for years, where he was immersed in street culture through BMX, DJing, and other interests. His contributions at the planning stage and throughout the project helped tremendously. Even the most seasoned Sony designers aren’t qualified to design for teens into street culture, if they’ve never ridden a skateboard. Under Rui’s guidance, we kept a user-oriented perspective to serve a market segment that’s hard to reach with traditional Sony design theory alone.
Morisawa: Five models round out the PIIQ line, but in design, we sought one goal. Instead of viewing headphones as just a device to listen to music, we tried to design an enjoyable listening experience. Some things are very distracting when active youth trying to listen-worrying that your hair will get caught or tangled up in the headphones, that earbuds will come off your ears, or that the band will get scratched. We eliminated these problems as much as possible while adding details that will make you glad you own the headphones. For this reason, they combine all kinds of tweaks you won’t find in regular product design.
Take the top PIIQ headphones (MDR-PQ1), for example. The cloth-covered housing is a first for Sony. It’s disappointing when gross painted headphones eventually get scratched, but with fabric, over time they develop a nice, worn look and you become attached to them. Another nice sign of use is how the pink base color gradually begins to show through the black surface of the buckles. This reminds me of how, right after some skaters get a board, they intentionally scratch it up a little. The way it’s scratched shows what moves or tricks the skater is good at. We brought this mind to the headphones and actually made it easier to show some character through wear and tear by embossing the surface. This thinking and fabrication is the complete opposite of “scratch-resistant” product design manner.
MDR-PQ2 headphones have a cloth-wrapped headband, molded pads, and rubber hanger covers. Covering the sliders and mechanical structures prevents hair from getting caught, even with an afro or long hair.
Meanwhile, MDR-PQ3 headphones have a very simple structure, shaped and constructed of a rubbery material to be tough. We chose this material so there’s no need to worry about scratching or abrading them.
PIIQ earbuds come in two models.
MDR-PQ4 earbuds gently clip on your ears, which keeps them on even if you’re upside-down. And when you’re not wearing them, you can hang them on a sleeve or pocket to show a little style. Slide them together, and you’ll notice that the shapes on each side form the PIIQ logo.
MDR-PQ5 open-air earbuds are also available. Here, we took advantage of the holes (used to fine-tune the sound quality) to create an iconic “gas mask” from the bass ducts.
Besides this, there are many other details you may not notice until you use the headphones. The cord junction is shaped like a P, fonts and finishes in L/R labeling vary by model, and so on. When you do notice these touches, we hope you feel more attached to the headphones.
Zamani: PIIQ packaging was designed at our U.S. office. Rui’s cool, vibrant, and fresh product design is such a departure from the regular Sony design image that we wanted to break from tradition in packaging, too.
Packaging generally follows product shapes, functions, and other elements, and this time, we matched the PIIQ logo style and headphone look-and-feel in the packaging. This helps us ensure a consistent brand image. Along these lines, we let the PIIQ attitude shine through while including understated Sony logos as assurance of quality.
All PIIQ packaging looks fresher, brighter, and bolder than regular Sony packaging. This not only catches the eye of the younger generations the headphones were made for but also distinguishes PIIQ from competitive brands in stores. Blister packs for the two-earbud models hang by a ball chain-a bit adventurous in packaging design. Usually headphone packaging just hangs there on the racks, looking rather lifeless and unfashionable. We attached the chain to a corner so that the packaging hangs at a 45° angle, somehow fitting for active younger generations that are always on the go.
Fukamatsu: Jienne is a new headphone series designed with women in mind. Women in Japan tend to respond to things that are cute, pretty, “kawaii” or trendy, but of course, every woman has her own tastes. And because our style and mode of behavior may depend on how we feel that day, where we’re going, or whom we’re with, our tastes may defy classification. Somehow, through design, I wanted to satisfy women with a range of tastes and an acquisitiveness that should sometimes be indulged.
The approach I chose was “layered” design. It’s helpful to mention that Japanese women tend to express themselves through just the right combination of clothes and accessories, worn just the right way. We also enjoy coordinating layers of clothing, rings, and so on. This observation led me to layer materials and colors of different kinds until I had a collection of cuteness in the two current Jienne earbud styles-Chic and Pop.
Jienne Chic may remind you of craftsmanship with a delicate touch, as for jewelry or lace. The ring on top is encircled by zirconia or faceted like cut crystal. Here, I wanted to capture some of the sparkling glamour women enjoy in jewelry and cosmetics.
Jienne Pop was inspired by the feeling of happiness and contentment sweets give us. Scrumptious layer cake delights many women, for example, and it even looks delightful. In Jienne Pop, we squeeze together slices of cute, vivid colors into little orbs, coated with a glossy finish. They look like candy.
Pick them up and look closely, and you’ll see that each color has a slightly different finish, which also makes these design themes enticing. Cord colors match each earbud, of course, but you’ll also notice matching patterns on the cord slider and plug: gemstone facets and diamond shapes on Chic and hearts on Pop. These details invite you to pick the earbuds up for a closer look. I hope the Jienne series will hold a special place in the hearts of girls and women as favorite accessories.
Yuyama: As you can see, the broad Jienne spectrum doesn’t include any traditional Sony colors. It’s easy to understand why-the earbuds wouldn’t look right in those colors. Jienne Chic, for example, calls to mind jewelry, so we never planned to introduce colors that would seem out of place in jewelry. Jienne Pop recalls candy, so we avoided intense, edgy colors.
Both Chic and Pop come in 12 colors, and it’s part of the fun to choose your favorite. We know how a lot of women probably enjoy jewelry. Instead of buying one expensive piece to wear every day, they carefully acquire a collection of affordable pieces over time, and they enjoy choosing the right piece for their mood. We wanted to bring this casual fashion fun to headphones.
The packaging also had to be just right. For headphones in this price range, we rarely have a chance to reach people through TV commercials or magazine ads. Packaging is therefore a crucial point of contact with consumers, and we can showcase design. Jienne Chic packaging is faceted like gemstones to catch the light and look luxurious. Unique and cute Jienne Pop packaging enfolds the buds in a carefully crafted bouquet.
PIIQ and Jienne have just been introduced. Above all, we think it’s your emotions that headphones should amplify, so style was as important to us as sound quality. The launch was not the end of our design work-it brings us to a new starting line.
