OpenRun Pro
Bone-Conduction Sports Headphones
PROJECT INFO
Brand | Shokz
Design | frog design
Year | 2021
ROLE & SKILL
​Lead Design Strategist | Market research, User interview, Insight synthesis, Design principle & strategy

Industrial Designer | Ideation sketch, 3D modeling, Rendering, CMF design, Prototyping, Mechanical engineering support, Design optimization
Open-Ear Comfort with Enhanced Bass Sound Experience
OpenRun Pro is the most premium headphones of Shokz ever. It's featuring a 20% smaller size than previous models for your best fit yet while still featuring our signature open-ear design and delivering all-day comfort.
Powered by 9th generation bone conduction technology, Shokz TurboPitch™ Technology, it provides the best-in-class audio delivered through your cheekbone. Two added bass enhancers allow you to experience every note, beat and chorus of your favorite audio, resulting in premium sound quality.
RECOGNITIONS
iF Design Award
Winner 2023
Product Design
reddot Award
Winner 2022
Product Design
Good Design Award
Winner 2022
Good Design
Winner 2022
CNET
Best Running Headphones and Earbuds of 2023
FEATURED
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More fluid silhouette
Blended structural complexity with a refined, integrated, and dynamic silhouette to convey the power and contemporary identity of the new generation design.
Previous design
Celebrating the new feature with the "Turbo Ring" design language
The "Turbo Ring" sound outlet treatment seamlessly seals the main acoustic ventilation, integrating with the body to convey the headphones' reserved yet powerful sound performance.
Unified pressure relief vent design
Seamlessly integrating the ventilation hole into the monolithic headphone body, ensuring optimal sound experience without compromising the sleek design.
Previous design
New design
Optimizing parting line
The iterated parting line design ensures both fluid product streamline and manufacturing efficiency for the assembling process.
Intuitive charging indicator position
Establishing a strong and intuitive hint by placing the indicator near the charging port. Meanwhile, the light affect responds when plugged.
CHALLENGE
Unify the obtrusive acoustic structure
into a sleek design language
Achieving the exceptional sound quality required incorporating several ventilation holes, which posed a challenge to maintaining a clean design language. Our task was to seamlessly integrate these necessary features while preserving the sleek aesthetics consistent with the previous generation.
APPROACH
Translating "Sporty" into a design foundation
To conveying the product's sporty characteristics effectively, it's crucial to precisely use the right elements to exhibit the strong sense of athleticism. We identified six key categories that evoke a sense of athleticism in users and further explored design features based on them, which also benefited to align the expectations between us and the client's team.
APPROACH
Explored ideas within branding framework
We distilled the three key brand essences of Shokz, distributing elements in varying proportions to create distinct design themes and diverged the design directions according to it.
Shokz Brand Essences
SPORTINESS
TECHNOLOGY
FASHION
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PURE
Elegant, minimalist design embodies ultimate flexibility
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RIDGE-LINE
Flowing lines evoke
the speed of a swift wind
EMBRACED CORE
Emphasized core structure infuses powerful strength
DEVELOPMENT
Design variations for acoustic ports
We explored multiple solutions to embellish the vent holes, carefully selecting the most refined design from numerous variations.
DEVELOPMENT
Design scientifically with sound engineering and ergonomics test
Minor form changes drastically impact acoustics. One of the main challenge was the earbud tilt angle.
The acoustically ideal position originally compromised the wearer’s silhouette. Through iterative testing,
we identified a 'sweet spot' that perfectly balances sound quality, ergonomic comfort, and aesthetics.
Ergonomics test for the earbuds tilting angle
Cosmetic samples for concept validation
DEVELOPMENT
CMF for diverse market segments
In our pursuit of diverse audiences, we thoroughly explored CMF variations,
enabling us to tailor designs that resonate with different preferences and market segments.
Urban Trendies
CMF proposal targeting Gen Z
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Outdoor Adventurer
CMF proposal targeting outdoor enthusiasts
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Modern Athletes
Final selection
Early color samples
Mesh finishing comparing
CREDITS
Brand
Shokz
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Design
frog design​
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Team
Mingmin Wang, Kuo-Chieh Wang, Jung-Soo Park,
Brenda Yang, Yuying Zhang​​
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Photo Credit
Shokz
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