Tinker, your headphones
Headphones let us create personal soundscapes wherever we go, but are often designed as inaccessible black boxes. Tinker breaks this barrier, making the invisible visible to invite modifications and repair.
Designing for meaningful connections with electronic devices. Design that lasts.
Built to adapt to your needs.
Sony and Beats headphones I took apart to learn about their construction.
Motivations
Headphones are expressive personal devices, but their form and function remain static.You interact with them in the form you buy them, unable to fix, upgrade or personalize along the way. They plan for their obsolescence.
Around 62 million tonnes of e-waste is produced annually. Only 22% is formally collected and recycled.1
If we form closer relationships with our electronics, and through ritualistic practices, maintain and upgrade them as needed, they can last longer.
What makes us throw away devices?
Adhesives and thread-locked screws make components difficult to access.Tinker has standard mechanical fasteners, and the ability to separate all dissimilar materials.
In the chase for an upgrade, worn parts like earpads go unreplaced, while others like headbands remain unfixable.
Tinker is engaging and visually celebrates maintenance to re-spark excitement.
Unintuitive and invisible component assembly make repair scary and risky. Tinker is visible and intuitive to foster confidence and encourage being hands-on.
Development
Shared mounting points between interchangeable parts.
Intuitive mechanisms that engage you in assembly to form closer connections to the object.
Design Iterations
Gray model mid assembly.
Gray model assembled.
Sandwich drivers to secure.
Mount driver assembly onto standardized cup
Built up in layers
Driver outwards, put all parts together yourself.String secures the fabric on the inside, the foam is inserted, and the fabric is wrapped over.