Seki: Today we’ll take a closer look at the spirit of Sony Design and why these products appeal to people. To begin, Yutaka and Thomas will tell us a little about their favorite Sony products.

Hasegawa: The product I chose is called the “Skysensor” ICF-5800, which my father bought for me. It was this series that introduced the new experience of listening to shortwave broadcasts from Japan and around the world. The designers must have thought carefully about how to bring the sophistication of professional equipment to the average user. In all respects – from how the radio feels to its usability – it’s well designed.
We get the same impression from the user manual, which depicts cockpit instrumentation on the front. Here, too, we’re invited to enjoy a new user experience. This approach to design is still very much with us at Sony today, and when we create a new kind of product, we’re also very careful to arrange a fitting new user experience.

Seki: The nature of this experience has no doubt changed a lot as digital products gradually replaced the Skysensor and other analog products. How has Sony ensured a consistent user experience?

Hasegawa: We closely consider the user perspective when creating new experiences, so that the design resonates with people. But of course some products are completely different from others. Products designed for a premium listening experience are quite unlike others designed for enjoying sports or fitness, such as a tennis sensor. That’s why, instead of imposing the same design language on all products, we must apply in-depth knowledge of users from one era to the next, so that products take shape in fitting ways.

Seki: So products are always designed from an intimate awareness of user needs, from one generation to another.

Hasegawa: That’s right. Rather than limiting ourselves to the shapes and forms of the past, we prefer to keep offering fresh user experiences.

Seki: Seeing this exhibition reminds me once again how Sony has been “making modern,” with design that defines our times. One example I seem to recall is the line of My First Sony products from the late 1980s. At a time when few manufacturers were catering to children, Sony dared to create these products. In the Aibo series, we also see an exploratory, playful side of Sony Design that’s appealing.

Hasegawa: We’ve had our share of successes and failures, but Sony has certainly continued to pioneer new kinds of products. We also apply what we’ve learned in the products you see today, and somehow, those past products may continue to influence the current design landscape.

Lykke: Sony is the epicenter, when you think of innovation and new ways, typologies, within products. You find many of them here in this book. The consistency to keep on, and then you evolve.

Hasegawa: The book invites us to reconsider the promise of Sony Design. From the past and through the present, and then, how should our work evolve in the future?

Seki: The book is surely significant for the broad perspective it provides on Sony products.

Hasegawa: We recently took another look at what Sony Design stands for, and we collected some thoughts in a video titled “Bold Typologies.” With this as our starting line, so to speak, we’ll be taking on more than just making products. We hope to try more exploratory projects, as well, as we introduce new user experiences.