Nothing Record - (2) [concept]:

A digital music turntable with a roller and a needle arm, displaying a message on its screen that says 'NOTHING Record - (2)' and controls for volume, treble, bass, and on/off.

Key take-aways:

This is my self-directed second iteration of a record player in the style of the Nothing design company. I took the feedback I got from the official Nothing design team and then made improvements to create this version.

Featuring a new colour scheme, clearer information communication and a simplified control layout, the Record - (2) has improvements across the board.

Development:

Close-up of a digital music device displaying the message 'NOTHING RECORD - (2).'

Goals:

The main goal of this project was simple… improve.

This meant making several of my own improvements and implementing the feedback I got from the design team at Nothing.

A modern turntable with a digital display showing 'NOTHING RECORD - (2)' and various control knobs and buttons.

Direction decisions:

To start I knew I had to simplify it further by increasing its “first sight understanding”. This refers to making the device instantly understandable by only looking at it.

To do this I separated the; volume, bass and treble displays from the main one. While this results in a busier front, it makes it a whole lot easier to see information at a glance.

A digital control panel with buttons labeled 'Up/Down' and 'Start/Stop', and numeric displays showing numbers 7, 12, 33, and 45.

How it sits and fits:

For improving it’s ability to sit in a home, I listened to a member of the Nothing design team who told me that the record - (1) colours may have been too punchy for most homes.

To fix this I made the colour scheme black and white to go inline with their phone - (2) colours. I also removed the glyph bars from around the side speakers.

Close-up of a black digital scoreboard showing the time 00:09 and the scores 6 and 10, with a large silver dial knob on the lower right

Physical controls decisions:

On the top, controls were combined and moved to make the layout symmetrical.

The bass and treble buttons made vertical for easier use with displays if they were horizontal a persons hand might go in front of them from standing view for the user.

The ‘ON’ button was also made into a clicky push button with a red light inspired by a ‘recording’ light.

Close-up of a modern coffee machine with a black and silver design, featuring a round control knob.

Feedback + Next steps:

I got some great feedback from my design teacher and others that said they enjoyed the improvements on this version.

Going forwards into a potential Record - (3) I would like to do a ground up redesign to make it slimmer, simpler and to include more elements of transparency.