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The Omniscient
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Jun 4, 2005, 3:49 AM
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Xbox 360 Design Reasons
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So say you've been tasked with creating the look of the next-generation Xbox. Where do you even start? You start with design values, which for the Xbox 360 were laid out as the acronym OCCAM, after Occam's Razor. The principle being, basically, that the best idea is the simplest one. The design values are:
Open
The gamer is at the center of the experience. The design enables partners to succeed and allows for customization.
Clear
Nothing is more difficult than it has to be. This should be true for hardware, software, services, and the spaces in between.
Consistent
A consistent experience integrated across design, branding, hardware, software, and services.
Athletic
The efficient use of power. Jonathan used this example: "Michael Jordan doesn't have any more muscle mass in his legs than the other guys on the basketball court. How does he jump like that? It's efficiency, not raw power."
Mirai
The Japanese word for "future," mirai (pronounced meer-EYE) expresses the goal of forward-looking, exhilarating, innovative design.
With the design values as a guide, Hayes and his team, working with two design firms—Astro Studios in San Francisco and Hers Experimental Design Laboratory in Osaka, Japan—created the slim design of the Xbox 360. Other goals were that the console needed to make a statement, whether it was horizontally or vertically placed in your entertainment center. "It needed to pass the rear-view mirror test," Hayes said. "When you see certain cars coming up behind you in your mirror, they make a strong impression. A Hummer, or a Porshe 911, for example. This immediacy or impact also needed to be reconciled with the goal of creating a timeless design—because the console will be on the shelf for a number of years and can't look dated."
So what about the shape, we asked. "The console has five lines. As industrial designers we wanted a shape that was simple enough that it could come to represent gaming in the coming generation. In contrast to the current console—which is about energy exploding outward—Xbox 360's concave shape is about the inhale. It's about the moment before the explosion, when energy is gathered. Think of a runner in the blocks before a sprint, or a martial artist taking in a breath of air before a kick."
Of course it's one thing to design a timeless, iconic exterior. But how about the guts? Read my interview with Lead Mechanical Engineer Jeff Reents for the scoop on finding a balance between brawn and beauty.
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