Research.

Composition

The way visual elements are arranged on a product. It's how each element will come together to not only work functionally, but visually, ensuring designers use the design principles like balance, emphasis, contrast, hierarchy, alignment and unity.

Proportion

This is the way each element compares to another, some might be bigger and some might be larger but that again narrows down to the design principles. You don't want the up volume to be any more emphasised compared to the down volume otherwise there will be confusion on which one is more important and it loses that sense of perfect proportionality considering that both buttons are equal.

Form

One of the most important parts of a design because it tells the story and helps show a point of difference to competition. Sometimes products do near identical things, however it's the form that distinguishes them and that's what makes consumers buy something over the other.

Visual Balance

It's a combination of everything, and is built with the design principles. When composition of elements, size of elements and the shape/form of elements aren't visually balanced, a product won't succeed and look like a mess. This may even cause user interface to be harmed as having some buttons not balanced with others just causes irritation to the ergonomics of interference.

Apple Product

AirPods Max

Comparable Product

Sony WH-1000XM5

Criteria

Apple Product

Comparable Product

Comparison Notes

Apple uses a more aesthetic composition than functional, placing large buttons on the tops of the ear cups, truly showing off the design and componentry. However, this composition is less practical as the user has to reach higher up the ear to access the buttons rather than the typical under the ear.

Sony uses composition of buttons to their advantage, using the same muted monotone colour and composing the buttons under the ear cups. This allows them to be hidden from the design and mainly for practicality and not for aesthetic use.

Apple's composition was aimed to be emphasised, whereas Sony's design really wanted to be discrete and utilise hidden composition to minimise the clutter on the design.

The way that the pads and the actual body of the ears are the same size, connected with a distinctive transition between materials.

Having the outside edge of the ear cups taper down to a smaller oval than the actual padding itself allows the headphones to not feel so bulky and reduces weight on your head. This proportionality is transitioned from large pads to a small external surface with a tapered transition.

The proportions of the outside shell surfaces are very comparable between these products. As highlighted, Apple is very bold and emphasises symmetry between the padding and outside with no change in proportion, which allows balance. However, Sony goes for a scaled-down outside for a lightweight and less bulky feel, showing a large difference in the size proportionality of these components.

The form is like traditional Apple, very smooth and uses heavy, prominent fillets on all components. The form of the headrest transitions from lightweight connection rods that connect to the ear pads, to a split hammock-like padding to distribute weight, which improves the ergonomic feeling of this product.

These headphones have a very simple form. The use of one colour all over reduces the emphasis on components, allowing everything to blend together. The form is so simple the headrest is one solid bar, but after further inspection there is a difference in material underneath for padding. However, using identical colouring helps hide the transition and focus on simplicity in the form. The angular tapered transition on the ear cups is the most visually noticeable part of the form, as the instant changes in angle change the way light reflects off its surface.

Apple goes for a more complex but smooth feel to its form, while Sony is very monotone and tries to mute its form. Apple is very consistent in its design between components, using heavy radii all over, whereas Sony uses angular and smooth design.

Like most headphones the balance is strong, having even sized ear cups. However, the most prominent part of Apple's balance is how they utilised asymmetry, having most buttons on one side and then a large emphasised button on the other, which utilises asymmetry but also balances it by ensuring everything is equal in a way.

Sony is extremely visually balanced. Having the use of 'hidden' buttons from using a monotone colour all over allows just the form to be seen, and overall the product becomes visually balanced as typical symmetrical headphones do.

Both products compare to be visually balanced and there is minimal comparison between these products.

Product 01

Craighill Swingtop Lighter

• — Form: Simple single moulded body with complex single-form componentry on top. The use of a solid, uniquely coloured ball right where you need to touch to initiate the lighter is a key emphasis on the form.
• — Proportion: Very heavily weighted on the top with all these complex and small components used to light the flame, while there's a large use of 'negative' space for the body which compares significantly in proportionality to the top.
• — Composition: Simple base with no extra components and a highly crowded, visually complex composition of elements on the top.
• — Visual Balance: Solid empty base with lots of surface area, while the top is heavy and complex but low profile to counteract the balance.

Product 02

Makita Cordless Drill

• — Form: Typical drill style, a heavy weighted battery at the bottom on the handle, with the chuck and motor on top of the hand.
• — Proportion: Very top heavy, with the battery being the only weight at the bottom of the handle, causing the proportions to be stronger on top. The taper is very strong from the back where the motor is, down to the tip of the drill bit.
• — Composition: This product has a very complex composition, with buttons, visual transitions, material changes and text all over, and not very simplified.
• — Visual Balance: I don't find the visual balance strong, and that is consistent with a variety of general hand tools in the industry. The quantity of elements, buttons and material changes just doesn't allow for simplicity and balance.

Product 03

Leatherman Multi-tool

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Product 04

Festool Joiner

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Product 05

Electric Screwdriver

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Product 06

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Dyson Product 01

Dyson V16 Piston Animal Cordless Vacuum

Dyson Product 02

Dyson Supersonic™ Travel Hair Dryer

Aspect

Product 01

Product 02

Comparison

Lightweight plastics and aluminium to help lift and maintain the weight while using the product. When used without the large stick, lighter materials are key as you need to lift the entire product with one hand and no support.

A smooth nylon for minimal heat transfer from internals to hands surface, also allows for lightweight holding which is important while holding a product in the air for a long length of time.

Very similar materials across as both are used for lightweight single hand held and this also helps link to the brand identity.

Plastics and aluminium for a smooth touch.

Very smooth all over for a soft holding feeling, with the textured circles at the bottom emphasising where not to hold due to incorrect centre of balance.

More plastics in the vacuum whereas the hair dryer is more premium and wanting to be displayed therefore it uses more premium feel of texture.

The use of highlighting colours like red and blues indicates interactive parts, allowing consumers to easily know where to touch and use the product.

Pink and rose gold colours link to the feminine userbase. This attaches to the feminine base because they are more likely to represent and be emotionally attached to these colours in society.

The hair dryer uses colour as an aesthetic, however a more practical product like the vacuum that's very gender and age neutral, there's a large use of colours and unified in a way to emphasise practicality over aesthetic.

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Hand-Held Tool

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Torch

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Aspect

Hand-Held Tool

Torch

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Version 01 · Original

Original Colour Scheme

The original PS5 is very neutral, just using shades rather than colour. I find this a strong move by Sony as it allows the product to fit in any environment.

Furthermore, there are customisable options using aftermarket and on-brand shell replacements in different colours.

Version 02 · Calmness

Recoloured for Calmness

The calming PS5 came to me when my ink ran out. I was going to do an undercoat of grey and a top coat of purple, however upon the ink running out only half of the side could be grey. This unlocked a nice gradient I could work with. I prefer the colour purple for calm scenarios because it's dark and reflects with the sunset at night, making it still and moody.

When connecting purple with my gradient mishap, I created a nice pearlescent purple shine on the PlayStation which emphasises the smoothness and calmness of a dark purple night with a calm, gentle white.

Version 03 · Excitement / Urgency

Recoloured for Excitement or Urgency

Orange was the obvious choice for myself for the urgency as, typically with my personal branding, I've always gone for a bold orange as it strikes off the page. Hence I copied that all over the console to make it stand out in an environment. I kept the middle part black to not have any contrast and strongly emphasise the heavy colour the orange produces. I can imagine this on my desk, being a truly striking object from my white walls and desk.

I also added a slight pink LED strip to the side as it increases the urgency this product has, whereas the original is just black with no light.

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Version 01 · Original

Original Colour Scheme

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Version 02 · Calmness

Recoloured for Calmness

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Version 03 · Excitement / Urgency

Recoloured for Excitement or Urgency

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Version 01 · Original

Original Colour Scheme

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Version 02 · Calmness

Recoloured for Calmness

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Version 03 · Excitement / Urgency

Recoloured for Excitement or Urgency

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