The Sega Mega-Drive with roots in portable CD players. The Aiwa CSD-GM1 is a super-rare boombox that plays Sega Games, I posted one awhile back up in the boombox section. Neat off-shoots for the saavy collector. https://segaretro.org/CSD-G1M
Over on X, the writer says it has 44! models reviewed. Unfortunately this was all that was shared : (
Found an interesting Walkman Personality, he had his hand in a ton of Sony Product Design, since he's an Industrial Designer we'll put him in this thread. There's much more on the website, lot's of cool product design insight including not much excitement from management when the stereo "Pressman" had large headphones. I've always said, it was the tiny headphones that people loved. https://npo--plat-org.translate.goo...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
History through Manga! https://kyusyu--manga-azusashoin-co...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
I've never seen this 1990 video before, there's a short section of factory assembly which is fascinating. Check out the jig, I guess to protect the circuit board while soldering, I always assumed it was automated.
A cool Japanese Blog about the first Walkman which lays out a claim that a lowly tech actually had converted a Pressman into stereo and the higher-ups loved it. https://appletechlab-jp.translate.g...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
The author has done a lot of research, I tend to put links down but these websites and blogs are disappearing so fast and this is great information. I didn't add the first few paragraphs, feel free to check out his really informative blog. https://appletechlab-jp.translate.g...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Just trying to figure out what this JDM Website is, was it just for the 4oth anniversary? I can't find the actual site, anybody seen this before? https://badbadnotgood-design.transl...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
From 2009, it's intesting that the Sony Shops didn't have much interest in it. https://toyokeizai-net.translate.go...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Sony had a design expo back in 2015, I love how display items are just sitting on tables. The tiny Trinitron is nice, it's the blurry unit in the forefront of the photo. https://www-sonypcl-jp.translate.go...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Three beautiful designs from Kataoka Design Studio, the FS595 has a control knob on the right top, how cool is that? Both Sports have very early carbon fiber (looking?) shells. Mine are packed away so I can't check out a cross-section. https://www-kataokadesign-com.trans...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
So I found the 40th Sony Website after a ton of digging. It looks like it was just temporary but luckily archive.org has saved it! Some of the photos might be missing, not sure if it's a browser issue or they're gone, this snapshot does seem to be complete. I would consider this is what Sony thought were their top 136 Walkmans (with MD/CD/DAT/Mp3) but there are some glaring exceptions, no Boodo khan? https://web.archive.org/web/20191021055034/http://sony.net/united/walkman40th/archive/#/
Isono Rie, the designer of the Beans Series Walkman https://www-japandesign-ne-jp.trans...tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Taku Sogabe, designer of the Sony WM-504 https://www-wantedly-com.translate....uto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp It looks like 83 Design is still working on Sony Headphone Design https://83design.jp/ I think this is Andy Warhol's Version, these would have been silk-screened with multiple copies and different colors, when of the stories said that Warhol even sent one to Sony. -What is the most memorable project you have done at SONY? For 38 years until I retired, I was in charge of the design of almost all of our products, including the Walkman, VAIO, PlayStation, the α7 digital camera , headphones, etc. I was fortunate enough to receive over 40 design awards both in Japan and overseas, and my final product, the wireless headset LinkBuds , received the Good Design Gold Award, Reddot, and the Invention Award at the National Invention Awards. One that stands out in my memory is the WM504 Walkman , a see-through model that only a few people know about, which I was in charge of about four years after joining the company . I was the one who started out developing the product from the planning stage, and when I spoke directly to the business division, everyone agreed with me. We were eventually able to bring it to market. It's a great example of "product proposals based on design," something that Sony excels at. - What specific output did you achieve with the WM504 Walkman? Above all, we paid great attention to the graphics . At the time, the Walkman was a cassette tape type. There were many variations of the Walkman, but they all had a strong industrial design element. They were black and somewhat mechanical. But I thought, "It's boring to hide the cassette," so I came up with the idea of a transparent Walkman, where the beauty of the mechanism itself and the graphics of the cassette tape would become the "face of the product ." I'm proud to say that this was the inspiration for the Frutiger Aero design, which was later developed by Apple and other companies, and which featured a transparency theme. In fact, it was even featured in the work of pop art master Andy Warhol . The Walkman is not just for listening to music, but also for enjoying fashion. I think it's a product that has been recognized for its graphic design . The ability to create something that is pleasing to the eye without compromising ease of use is where the skill of an industrial designer comes into play.
