Today, Sony has Design Centres in Tokyo, Los Angeles, London, Singapore and Shanghai. In total, Sony Design Group across the world employs around 250 designers
Designers at Sony Design have a variety of backgrounds including product designers, human interface designers and visual communication designers.
Sony established its first formal design group in 1961. In 1968 it opened its first offshore design centre, in the US. It has continued to pursue the strategy of investment in overseas design capability, opening centres in Europe in 1980, Singapore in 1993 and Shanghai in 1995. In the past the European Design Centre has rotated between locations, but has been in London since 1991.
Sony Design Group has a set of core design values against which it judges the success of all its products. These are detailed below:
- Originality - Sony Design continuously strives to create something original. To their mind, products are intended for people to use, so it only stands to reason that these products be designed with a human touch. For Sony, human-focused design is the foundation for creating something original.
Lifestyles - People often note that the Sony Walkman changed their lives. In actuality, the Walkman’s success can be credited to the public’s demand for a 'music on the go' lifestyle. The Walkman touched the hearts of consumers by making it possible for listeners to take their music with them and access it on demand. The Walkman story is a perfect example of what it takes to create consumer lifestyle changes - a product must strike a universal, heart-touching chord with people everywhere.- Functionality - When Sony Design was established in 1961, its black and silver design language elevated the Sony image. The idea was to do away with excessive ornamentation and accentuate a powerful, high performance, professional feel through the use of simple, cool colours and materials.
- Usability - It all starts with the principle of carefully listening to the user's needs. Every aspect of Sony design considers the needs of people who use their products. This includes everything from the shape of each button and dial, the position of every switch, to the interface design. Sony carefully observe the conditions under which the product is operated and pursue continuous improvement. their products are not only functional but also give full expression to the beauty of functionality.
In the past, designers were closely aligned to particular product groups. Today, however, product characteristics are changing. In particular, the emergence of many devices that interact with the Internet is placing new demands on designers at Sony. As a result, designers from different backgrounds are working more closely together in order to ensure that physical products and their Internet interfaces offer a consistent design language and user experience. The design of the mylo communicator (covered in the following pages) is a good example of this evolving way of working.
Also, Sony encourages its designers to circulate and most move between product groups on a three-year rotation.