Starkey Zon Hearing Aid: Driven by in-depth customer research, Karten Design introduced functional innovation and a dynamic new design language to Starkey’s behind-the-ear hearing aid line. When Karten Design learned that 60- to 85-year-old users associate traditional hearing aids with age, disability and weakness, they set out to design hearing aids that empower their users. They developed a design language that borrows visual cues from modern architecture, jewelry and automotive design. With a palette of six understated colors that blend with hair and skin tones, the hearing aid becomes virtually invisible when worn behind the ear.
Stuart Karten is the president of the award-winning Los Angeles-based product design and innovation consultancy, Karten Design. Since 1984, he has partnered with medical device and consumer electronics companies to commercialize new technology, using design strategy and research, industrial design, user experience, and engineering to develop products that create positive experiences for people. Driven by strategic market understanding and deep user empathy, he helps companies seize new opportunities and create compelling products that resonate with end users, increasing adoption and enabling better outcomes.
Karten Design’s work for Fortune 500 companies and technology start-ups has won more than 100 global design awards and has been featured in exhibitions in the Museum of Modern Art, Design Museum Holon, the Los Angeles Architecture + Design Museum, and the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The firm has been recognized for its medical design innovation on CNN and NPR, as well as in Chicago Tribune and Fast Company.
Stuart is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. He is a founding member of the USC Center for Body Computing and sits on the advisory board to the USC master’s program in Medical Device and Diagnostic Engineering. He has shared his perspectives on creativity and business across the nation, speaking for the IIT Design Research Conference, the Design Management Institute, and the Product Development Management Association, and recently judged the Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA). Stuart is actively involved in his community and currently sits on the Board of Regents for Da Vinci Schools, where he and his team of designers champion the importance design thinking and collaborate with high school design students on various social design projects.
Hitachi LifeStudio: Based on research exploring the new ways that young “Digital Natives” are interacting with digital data, Karten Design designed the LifeStudio family of personal hard drives. While competing drives are designed for data security, LifeStudio drives meet users’ needs for validation, community, sharing and creation. LifeStudio helps people organize and share data with innovations such as the industry’s first integrated USB drive that lets users take information on the go.
Midmark Artizan Expressions Dental Cabinetry
Vessix Vascular V2 Renal Denervation System: Vessix has a revolutionary system capable of treating high blood pressure with a simple 30-second procedure. Karten Design was tasked with creating a strong visual identity for the renal denervation system that created excitement for investors and the medical community as Vessix sought funding to test and commercialize its system. Karten Design approached designing this medical device with a focus on high-quality materials and finish, and an evocative, emotional form. Details such as texture and contrast draw people deeper into the product, encouraging closer examination. A brilliant, full-color graphic user interface reinforces the simplicity of the 30-second procedure, guiding users through the renal denervation process in just 6 screens.
Bruin Biometrics Orthosonos
Boston Scientific Latitude Heart Coach App: The Heart Coach initially engages users by giving them one-of-a-kind access to data about their ICDs. Over time, it begins to introduce new dimensions related to behavior. Once people make the commitment to behavior change, the app offers personal coaching to help users achieve their goals, and brings in support from a community of caregivers. Graphic trending charts help users envision their success and badges track their progress.
Vizio Home Theater Headphones: Designs make strong statements with new wearing styles and luxurious materials, from leather and metallic accents to more exotic finishes such as blue stingray hide. A conceptual pair of over-the-ear music headphones leverages Vizio’s core technology as a design feature. Dynamic LCD displays over each ear allow users to project album art, a visualizer or other personal images—a first in technological self-expression.
Big Machine Country Music Headphones: Drawing upon shared community values such as nostalgia, simplicity, natural beauty, and straightforward authenticity, the design of these headphones draws from simpler times when handmade craftsmanship trumped mass production and individual products told human stories. The design is heavily inspired by the handmade musical instruments that have traditionally defined country music. The headphones’ rich materiality was inspired by the warmth and tactility of acoustic guitars. Details such as mother of pearl inlay and a polished steel perimeter draw from guitar fretboards, while the headphones’ sweeping profile subtly echoes the rounded forms of soulful stringed instruments. The soft-tooled leather headband on the curving inner surface of the headphones is inspired by the hand-wrought detailing of country western dress wear.
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