Overview:

Blue Tees Golf asked us to envision a combination of their best - selling PLAYER BTE speaker with an OLED display that could be used to find the GPS coordinates of a golfer’s pin on the course.

This specific combination of features was a first for the golf industry and opened a whole new market segment.

I co-designed this with Alex Cordeiro based on Blue Tees’ initial request of a “pill-shaped display on their existing player speaker.”

 

Client: Blue Tees Golf

Market: NA, EU, APAC

Launch Timing: 2023

Design Direction: Brandon Francisco (Blue Tees CCO)

Industrial Design: Zane Hoekstra, Alex Cordeiro

 

The Brief

 

GPS - enabled pin locations, with audio

As younger generations enter the sport, they’re looking for new gadgets to help improve their games and lower their scores while also having a good time listening to tunes.

 

Intuitive Interaction

Simplified touch - screen controls and a visual hierarchy of buttons make Player+ easy to operate.

 

Integrated magnet for mounting

Ensure your pin location is always accessible even from several yards away.

 

Designed to be outdoors

A Scuff-resistant body, a recessed screen, IPX7 water - proof, and an overall solid build ensure this device is prepared to be used outside.

 

Offered in charcoal and navy color options

The Blue Tees Golf team has a robust cmf document that we referenced for the speaker color ways.

 

Delaying the final reveal

By delaying the reveal with a cable carton and literature folder, the hope is to create a bit more anticipation for the first look at the product.

 

The Reveal

The climax of unboxing is first seeing the product. The product is celebrated and elevated via the paper pulp.


 

Uniting the Shapes

 

Blending the forms

The main challenge was to integrate a flat plane into a cylinder as seamlessly as possible.

 

Laying out the buttons

Treating the UI like a smartphone led us to celebrate the logo - marked GPS button as a focal point and push all the other buttons to the side to read secondarily.

 

From concept to reality in about 5 months

Partnering with development teams in Asia helped us have a working prototype for an important trade show in record time.

 

Designed for the modern golfer

Order yours here.


© Zane Hoekstra 2024