What kind of design does Harman need?
I used AI tools to conduct a quick research on Harman’s product ecosystem and core consumer profiles. This lays the groundwork for identifying design touch points, while ensuring our solutions align with Harman’s product goals.
Product positioning
* From ChatGPT
For music lovers, adventurers, and everyday users who value both performance and style,
JBL speakers offer bold, powerful sound with durable designs, backed by a trusted audio heritage—making them ideal for home, travel, and outdoor experiences.
For discerning listeners who value both audio excellence and modern design,
Harman Kardon offers elegantly crafted speakers that deliver rich, detailed sound—enhancing music, movies, and living spaces with a touch of luxury.
Segments of Haman consumers
* From ChatGPT
young, active music lovers, mainly 18–35 year-olds (students, young professionals), plus casual family/party buyers.
want portable, bass-forward sound with durable, stylish designs
design- and sound-conscious, mid-to-high income adults who aged ~28–55.
prioritize refined, high-fidelity audio and stylish home integration — think professionals, homeowners, and audio enthusiasts
Who are the primary consumers in the current market?
* From Deepseek
Adults aged 25-45
≈45%
65% of users prioritize products with smart home linkage.
Prioritizing audio quality like high frequency response range (≥20kHz), low distortion rate (< 0.5%) and Dolby sound.
Gen Z aged 18-30
≈30%
58% users prefer RGB lighting, translucent shell and other designs
Usage rate of AI voice assistants exceeds 70%, and the average daily interaction frequency reaches 8.3 times
Rapidly expanding: adults aged 40+
≈15%
Projected to reach 25% by 2030
90% users choose products with physical buttons and large font interface.
The demand for value-added services such as heart rate detection and emergency call has increased by 29% every year.
EXPERIENCE
DESIGN
FUN &
PERSONALIZED
For Harman International Design Test
Abner
2025.08
Who are the target users for this test proposal?
After comprehensive analysis of core user and current speaker market segmentation, I have pinpointed the target user group, to align with the product goal of Harman and market trend.
28-35 years old
A young professional & music lover
Individuals aged 28-35 are typically professionals with around five years of work experience. They play music with smart speakers while reading, gathering or exercising at home, control smart devices, voice questioning, or pair with TVs for movie.
Consumption preference
* From DeepSeek
Target user scenarios
* User Research
Pain points from research
(*) Some of these issues can be resolved by replacing the speaker with Bluetooth/Smart speaker.
Users with Bluetooth Speaker
Can't connect to the TV (*)
Lacks controlling smart home devices like air conditioners or lights (*)
High-power sound leads to other people‘s complaints
Low usage frequency with limited entertainment features
Users with Wifi Speaker (AI Assistant)
Most smart speakers' sound quality is below average (*)
No way to block kids frequently activate the voice assistant
What kind of speaker do I design?
Based on research insights, the target users primarily use speakers for music, voice search, and entertainment purposes.
* The speaker is generated by Figma AI
Accompanying Speaker
Whatever you play with audio at home
Product Positioning
Harman Kardon WiFi & Bluetooth speaker
Home audio speaker with AI assistant, priced around ¥1500
Target User Group
A young professional & music lover, with middle income, aged 28-35,
Equipped with smart home devices,
Enjoy social gatherings with friends.
Key Scenario
Entertainment for gathering (music/TV streaming/sing/etc)
Control smart devices, Voice questioning
Here’s what you get with the speaker.
Personalized
AI assistant
Sing with your phone
Personalized AI assistant
Every family member
has their own
AI companion
By integrating open-source AI models, the speaker delivers instant responses to user queries.
Besides, users can customize AI preference for each family member in the app. Through individual voice model record, the AI adapts its tone, light effects, and content filtering — like shielding children from inappropriate content.
When the user approaches, the speaker automatically light up the user-preferred color.
Set up AI preference
Sing with your phone
Use your phone as microphone
Delivering low-latency interplay between smartphone, speaker, and TV for data transmission.
User voices captured by the smartphone mic are transmitted to the speaker for playback, while song metadata is relayed to the TV for display.
Implementation tech
Immersive sing experience with speaker system
More ideas
A few of my personal favorite proposals got ruled out along the way due to BOM cost...
Noise Cancellation
Help users immersive in quiet
Refer to Huawei Harmony cockpit system, speaker can cabin noise with built-in microphones.
The speaker system processes chips to analyze the noise's frequency and amplitude.
Finally it can generate counter sound waves with identical amplitude but inverted phase, and plays through speakers to mitigate noise levels.
The BOM cost at least ¥800 for noise cancellation feature
Directional Sound
Prevent audio conflicts and disturbing others
Refer to Huawei Harmony cockpit system, speaker can cabin noise with built-in microphones.
The speaker system processes chips to analyze the noise's frequency and amplitude.
Finally it can generate counter sound waves with identical amplitude but inverted phase, and plays through speakers to mitigate noise levels.
The BOM cost ranges from ¥1200 to 5000 for each equipment
That’s all.
Speaker is your companion, a true friend.
Differing from other hardware or software, users have accustomed to interacting with speakers through sound, the most human interaction way.
Now AI models have powered speakers with enriched personality. They can detect human emotions by analyzing speech content and tone, and deliver personalized companionship, with multi-sensory responses—whether through hearing, sight, or even touch.
For Harman International Design Test
Abner
2025.08