A pioneer in immersive audio technology, Iris was looking for a headphone design that would embody a “future is now” ideology. Our strategy centered around showcasing “Iris Inside.” First: machined aluminum chassis, shielded with sinuous surfaces in frosted plastic. Next: using a cut-through in the shell, we developed a live hinge button to activate the technology, in turn triggering a lensed status light that shines through the shell in the iconic “eye” silhouette of the Iris logo.

We worked closely with an engineering partner to provide nearly production ready CAD, and followed through with the factory to ensure the final product represented our vision/design intent. Rather than a design handoff, we moved into a manufacturing support role and worked with the factory throughout development and production to ensure design intent was maintained. This involved numerous negotiations on machining and casting techniques, pigment loads in the plastics and re-engineering of mechanisms to hit price point.