The Bose SoundDock Portable is a speaker system for the iPod and iPhone that combines high-quality audio performance with complete portability. At the time, portable speakers for docking the iPod were either very small, to emphasize portability, or large to deliver big sound. The challenge here was to evolve the existing design language of the original Bose SoundDock — one of the original tabletop docking speakers for the iPod — and add a battery and other features to create a unit that didn’t compromise between sound quality and size.

Through sketching and rapid prototyping I refined the form and created three important features. First, the rotating dock — the team and I created a simple design and mechanism for users to hide and show the dock. The experience is delightful, one push on the front plate and the dock spins open with a smooth, gliding motion. Next an external battery that’s extremely easy to remove and replace. And finally, the acoustic port — the exit of the patented wave guide technology — doubles as a comfortable carry handle. And to make it truly portable, I designed and produced a messenger bag for the unit as well.

Customer Experience
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Soft-Goods Design
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