Sony Electronics
Sony Design Center is the creative hub of Sony, responsible for shaping the design and innovation of the company’s vast range of consumer electronics, entertainment products, and services. With teams located across the globe, the Design Center leads product development, user experience design, packaging, and branding strategies. It fuses cutting-edge technology with lifestyle insights to create award-winning designs that define Sony’s brand across industries such as electronics, music, film, and gaming.
Senior Research & Development
As a Senior R&D Designer at Sony Design Center, I redefined major product lines, leading Sony’s transition from analog to digital technology. My lifestyle research for varioius initiatives resulted in award winning and best-selling product lines. I was also part of multiple teams, earning two Red Dot Design Awards, IF Awards, and 10 patents. Based in San Francisco and Tokyo, I was responsible for integrating Sony Music and Sony Pictures content into innovative new electronic products and services, focusing on hardware / software design and development tailored to urban lifestyles for the North American market.
Sony Design Center
Sony has always been at the forefront of design and became one of the first companies to create an in-house creative studio. Since its inception in 1961, Sony has forged its reputation for having a leading and award-winning global design team. Today the team’s contribution has expanded to cover a broad range of the Sony Group’s design and branding activities; from product/service designs to entertainment finance and other business areas. We continuously explore the possibilities of design, working with people around the world to realize richer experiences and more comfortable lifestyles – whilst creating ‘new standards’ of value through the fusion of creativity and technology.
eMarker is a service that allows you to bookmark songs off of your favorite radio stations… When you hear a song on the radio that you like, just push the button on the eMarker. Later, when you want to find out what song you heard and liked, plug the eMarker in to your PC. Our website will tell you what you heard…[Then you can buy a copy if you wish…]
I served on the original incubation team for Sony’s eMarker, leading lifestyle research and overseeing the design and development of the software interaction and coding that controlled the hardware device. This enabled users to identify, manage, and purchase bookmarked songs from the radio. I also designed the logo and packaging. The eMarker became the number one selling electronic device on Amazon upon launch and maintained its top position throughout the Christmas shopping season. Notably, this was Sony’s first ever internet-connected product and service, launched as an internal LLC.
Imagine capturing your most cherished moments and effortlessly transforming them into stunning, high-quality movies with just a touch. As the lead designer of a groundbreaking Signature application for an eagerly awaited touchscreen device, I spearheaded the creation of a revolutionary tool that redefines video editing.
Our application allows users to quickly and intuitively assemble their personal memories into professional-grade films. By harnessing the power of real-time multi-touch interaction, we developed an easy-to-use video assembly and editing experience that feels as natural as it is innovative.
Backed by in-depth lifestyle research, we crafted a unique interaction method that leverages direct multi-point touch, providing users with an unparalleled real-time editing experience. To elevate this experience, we integrated an automated artificial intelligence assistant that helps users seamlessly weave their footage into engaging narratives, turning everyday moments into cinematic stories.
With our Signature application, creating beautiful, memorable movies has never been easier. Whether you’re preserving family vacations, capturing milestone events, or simply documenting everyday life, our cutting-edge technology empowers you to tell your story like never before.
I led the HCI Research and Design for the Sony Sport S2 Audio products, embedded within a team of three industrial designers. We developed a new line of personal portable audio products tailored for the active sport market, grounded in extensive research to shape original design directions. The product line quickly became the market leader, achieving top sales across all skews and winning numerous accolades, including the prestigious Red Dot Award for High Quality Design.
Our research and design efforts were deeply rooted in understanding the active urban lifestyle, with a specific focus on the personal space or sphere extending three feet out from the skin layer. By examining how electronic devices integrate into various unique lifestyles, we gained invaluable insights. Leveraging special access to the X-Games, we conducted comprehensive lifestyle research with both athletic participants and enthusiastic fan bases as well as casual onlookers. This foundational understanding enabled us to develop a range of new electronic personal products and services tailored for the active lifestyle, resulting in innovative solutions that resonated with our target audience.
Sony Metreon was an innovative entertainment complex, blending retail, technology, and immersive experiences in San Francisco and Odaiba, Japan. As a member of the creative team, I helped design, develop and build the themed attractions, including Moebius’ “Air Tight Garage,” Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are,” the PlayStation Store, and the Food Court, creating dynamic, interactive environments for visitors.
My role also involved crafting visual identities for the environmental design, ensuring a cohesive experience throughout the complex. I was responsible for designing and developing interactive ATMs, further enhancing guest engagement with cutting-edge technology.
This work helped solidify Sony Metreon as a cultural landmark, setting new standards for urban entertainment by blending innovative design with immersive experiences, technology, and storytelling.
GearOn was a hardware-software initiative designed to create the ultimate ultra-mobile device, with the hardware shaped by the needs of the software experience. Our goal was to define the ideal hardware form and features for a seamless mobile experience, driven by a suite of four unique software applications. I led the design and development of a fully functional software-hardware prototype that enabled multiple mobile devices to connect to a central server running NaviLife, one of the four apps, which focused on advanced time management.
NaviLife transformed a traditionally mundane business task into an engaging, interactive experience by creating a Collaborative Communication Tool for Activity Participation. The NaviLife tool turns routine processes into dynamic interactions, fostering collaboration and making communication more enjoyable and productive.
NaviLife offers a unique approach by depicting three distinct perspectives: upcoming, current, and past experiences. Users can select future experiences and see how they impact the present, based on time and location. This creates a collaborative environment for real-time event planning and communication. Additionally, location- and time-based data enhance user experiences, while a system for managing suggested near-future events keeps interactions dynamic and forward-thinking.
