Product Designer

Bang & Olufsen Cisco 950 Earbuads

UX/UI, Motion, Branding
2023 - 2024
Available for download @Cisco

UX, Interaction Design
2024
Available for purchase @Cisco

UX/UI, Motion, Branding
2023 - 2024
Available for download @Cisco

Overview

Bang & Olufsen and Cisco have partnered to create a line of co-branded headsets, including the over-ear Cisco 980 and in-ear Cisco 950 earphones, designed for corporate customers.


These earbuds are fully integrated with Cisco’s Control Hub platform, allowing IT teams to easily monitor and manage their collaboration devices and accessories. Developed through close collaboration, these B&O-designed products feature intuitive physical button gestures, customizable options, and voice prompts to enhance the user experience.

My Role

Senior Product designer(1)

  • SW Interaction Design

  • HW Interaction Design

Team

  • UX designer(1)

  • UX researcher(1)

  • Product manager(1)

  • HW engineering team

  • B&O SW/UX/PM team

Problems

  • Complex gestures to memorize.

  • Lack of voice prompts.

Opportunities

  • Support Microsoft and Webex.

  • Customizable buttons.

Assumptions

1. Symmetrical button gestures

  • Pros: Since both earbuds are identical, user can easily memorize the behaviors.

  • Cons: Limited number of gestures.


2. Asymmetrical button gestures

  • Pros: It can contain more gesture controls with different features.

  • Cons: User may difficult to remember all the gesture controls.

Challenge

Aligning gesture controls with basic guidelines while better understanding general user behaviors and ensuring that users can easily follow key gestures and audio feedback.

Observation

Physical product interactions are deeply personal. While there are general guidelines and expectations, each user brings a unique perspective. In gesture design, there may not always be a single correct solution, but there are certainly approaches that can lead to poor user experiences.

Decision

  • Prioritized interaction requirements included general B&O gesture behaviors, Microsoft features, and Webex integration.


  • To add exclusive features for Microsoft, we adopted an asymmetrical approach, allowing more control on the both earbuds.


Interaction specs

  • Clear interaction definitions on both earbuds benefit users by simplifying button usage.


  • Call and music controls are on the right earbud, while noise cancellation is on the left, providing a clear and intuitive understanding of each earbud’s functions

Project summary

  • Successfully released the product on the market in mid-2024.

  • Device supported by Cisco Accessory Hub, B&O Mobile app.

  • Works with USB dongle.

Interested in learning more?

Interested in learning more?

If you’d like to learn more about the project, please feel free to reach out to me via email.

If you’d like to learn more about the project, please feel free to reach out to me via email.

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All Rights Reserved

2024