Explaining the PlayStation 5’s Divisive Design

An industrial designer breaks down the console that has drawn comparisons to a Zaha Hadid building and a wifi router.

HYPEBEAST Features - Go in-depth and learn more about the culture. HYPEBEAST Features June 19, 2020 Explaining the PlayStation 5’s Divisive Design An industrial designer breaks down the console that has drawn comparisons to a Zaha Hadid building and a wifi router. Sony During its “Future of Gaming” livestream last Thursday, Sony revealed the much anticipated PlayStation 5 console. But the event wasn’t even over before critiques of the “future facing” design came rolling in. Memes poured in over Twitter comparing the PS5 to a Zaha Hadid building, Eve from Wall-E, the Pope’s headgear, a wifi router, a gentrifying condo development and a $60 million USD performing arts center. But is the design truly as ludicrous as the twitter commentariat have made it out to be? HYPEBEAST spoke with Spencer Nugent, the industrial designer behind the popular Sketch A Day platforms, to process the somewhat divisive console. Fresh off his livestream critique of the PS5, Nugent shares insights into how the PS5 broke with Sony’s design strategy for PlayStation, Xbox’s more “agro” approach, and whether Sony’s aesthetic gamble will pay off. Sony Were you anticipating the PS5 from a design perspective? I was aware of the pending release. I’m part of a PlayStation family. We have Xbox as well. As a designer, I like to surround myself with a variety of products. I’ve been doing consumer electronics for over a decade now, so I was anticipating something. What were your initial impressions? How would you kind of label or address specific design elements that felt wrong in some way? I think if you’re going to critique something, you have to come at it with a certain set of rationale and context to the discussion. When I look at the historical progression of [Sony Playstation’s] products, I tried to identify what I would consider to be those qualities of each era. They tend to be what I would consider progressive at the time and certainly polarizing in their designs. My initial impressions of [the PS5] were that it felt like we were cruising down this path on a freeway, and then all of a sudden we just took this off-ramp. The placement of the connectors feels like an afterthought. Maybe that’s a theme throughout the product; much of what I’m seeing feels like afterthought: the drive, you know, being a hump. A lot of questions just came to mind. How is this thing gonna lay flat? And if it lays flat, what’s the cooling scenario? The foot on the product is one I can’t quite wrap my head around either because it feels so out of place. When I consider the approach to something like the PlayStation Four where the foot is at least contained to the profile of the unit, and it feels like okay, this belongs. I get that perhaps they want to create their own brand language, but it feels like a revolution and not an evolution because the aesthetic execution is if anything provocative but certainly questionable at its core. READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON HYPEBEAST → More HYPEBEAST Features FASHION Washing Clothing by Hand Is Easier Than You Think SPORTS Skate Culture Will Survive Quarantine Get The App Free on iOS and Android Follow 2020 HYPEBEAST Limited. All Rights Reserved Manage Subscriptions You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to HYPEBEAST's marketing emails. You can unsubscribe from us any time by clicking here. It may take 48 hours to complete the unsubscribe process. Contact subscription@hypebeast.com for assistance on any enquiries. Our Mailing Address: HYPEBEAST, 10F, KC 100, 100 Kwai Cheong Road, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong