diski
In the era of being able to stream any song at the press of a button, CDs are fading out. This project aims to bridge the gap between the two media forms. A disk changer that holds 8 disks (and their cases), remembers which songs are your favorites, and lets you choose what you want to shuffle gives listeners more freedom in hopes of making physical media more desirable to younger generations.
This collection also includes a CD player for smaller spaces with a visible disk and a slot for the case, as well as modular disk storage.
To make the CD listening experience more flexible like streaming, I incorporated these features:
✦ a big special button for adding songs to a favorites list
✦ a memory of what songs on each CD are favorites
✦ shuffle capabilities between select disks
✦ adjustable bass
Users can mix & match body and button color from a set of choices.
I deduced what's needed:
1. tactile buttons & knobs
2. room for multiple CDs & their cases
3. a way to integrate streaming features into a physical player
Once I had my form factor mostly figured out, I made prototypes to work out the details & proportions.
I modeled the collection in Solidworks, and I split the disk changer body into 6 parts for efficient 3D printing.
I designed the CD player and storage using the design language I established with the disk changer.
✦ The CD player contains the same favoriting & bass adjustment technology, meant for smaller spaces and those who only want to play one disk at a time. The CD player is clear, so users can see the disk spin.
✦ The modular CD storage has room for 8 CDs, just like the disk changer. It keeps their collection tied to their player.
Behind each CD is a double-click mechanism, so you can easily push in and it pops out. Satisfying!
I used keyboard switches, detented poteniometers, and 3D printed toggles + a wheel to make my prototype as interactive as the real product would be.
