Sony knew design

A recent IG post brought to my attention the heyday of Sony design. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s the Sony design team had a holistic vision for how music devices really could drive lifestyle.

Often the term lifestyle design is used to describe an aspirational tone that fits into the “lifestyle” of a consumer, but rarely do we see a universe of products that defines a vision for how products can drive your life.

Although the “vintage” aesthetic that is drawing much attention is centered aroud the pop art like music devices (walkmen, cd players, mp3 players and cameras) what’s amazing is that the Sony design team had a holistic program at work.

At the time, Sony was also trying to assert dominance by controling the media that was used in its devices. They invested heavily into the MiniDisc, which wasn’t their proprietary form, but they also had the MemoryStick, which was essentially a predecessor to flash memory. So, there must’ve been a corporate agenda to try and convert Sony consumers into a world of their own.

But this was carried out to the T on all fronts from advertising ideas like the Sony alien Plato, to the individual logos for the various lines of products. The logos, which are being archived on the X acccount @sonylogos, are real gems. From the Sony VAIO logo to the lesser known logos for their karaoke machines, these logos have a distinct flavor unto themselves, but fit within this design-forward world that Sony was crafting.

Looking back at this era it makes me really crave for design-driven product strategies that are less about meeting consumer needs and more about defining how a consumer’s world can look and behave. It feels a whole lot less mangement driven and demanding than the world that the Vision Pro puts forth. I really think Apple is just a giant management company now and it’s sad to see how Apple’s design has become more of a restrictive pen than a universe of “thinking different”.

Signing off…