In the competitive smart home market, DingDong sought to evolve its product line after a successful first-generation launch. They partnered with LKK Design to pioneer a new standard for AI speaker design, aiming for a holistic upgrade that would merge sophisticated aesthetics with a fundamentally more natural user experience.

The mission was clear: to create an AI speaker that felt less like a piece of technology and more like an integrated, intelligent part of the home.

LKK Design defined key objectives to guide the AI speaker's design and development:

1. Domestic Aesthetics: The speaker must possess a compact, holistic form that complements any interior design style.

2. Intuitive Interaction: The AI speaker design needed to reimagine user interaction, making it more flexible and natural than existing market offerings.

3. Multi-Sensory Quality: The design had to leverage material textures to create a high-quality acoustic object that appeals to both sight and touch.

Our approach to AI speaker design combined rigorous research with innovative engineering to deliver a product that feels both intelligent and instinctive.

Design Research

We began with deep ergonomic research, studying how users interact with devices both up-close and from a distance. These insights directly informed the physical form and interface, ensuring the AI speaker design was built around human behavior, not just technology.

Industrial Design

• Home-Integrated Form: We developed a compact, unified shape with a fine mesh grille to give the speaker a soft, domestic presence, allowing it to blend seamlessly into home environments.

• Tactile Material Fusion: The AI speaker design expertly combines fabric, metal, and solid elements to create a "natural flowing acoustic space" that feels as good as it sounds.

• The 12-Degree Golden Ratio: A pivotal innovation in this AI speaker design is the 12-degree tilt. This ergonomic angle optimizes both close-range touch control and the long-distance readability of the integrated LED dot-matrix display.

Mechanical Structure Design

Our mechanical engineers perfected the internal architecture to stabilize the distinctive angled form. We ensured precise alignment of all components—acoustic drivers, touch panel, and mesh fabric—within a compact volume, guaranteeing both premium sound performance and structural integrity.

Prototyping and Testing

Through iterative prototyping, we rigorously tested every aspect of the AI speaker design. This included validating the multi-touch panel's responsiveness, the clarity of the LED matrix, and the reliability of gesture controls. This process refined the user experience to be seamless and reliable.

The second-generation DingDong speaker is a benchmark in thoughtful AI speaker design, delivering significant market value.

• Market Expansion: The refined and approachable design opened new user segments for DingDong, making it a compelling choice for style-conscious smart home users.

• Distinct Competitive Edge: Customizable features like wake words and interchangeable meshes, born from user-centric AI speaker design, created a playful and personalized product that stood out in a crowded market.

• New Interaction Standard: This project successfully unified touch, gesture, and visual feedback into a single, cohesive interface, setting a new paradigm for how users interact with intelligent agents in their homes.

This case study exemplifies how LKK Design's holistic AI speaker design process creates differentiated products that win in the market by prioritizing the human experience.