Two distinct computer mice embody the essence of Yamaha - Design

Mouse Design
2022

Overview

Like playing a wind instrument or riding a motorcycle

In this thought experiment-style design project, designers from Yamaha and Yamaha Motor collaborated on a common theme. The subject we chose was the computer mouse—one of the most familiar digital tools in modern life.
Although we interact with them for many hours every day, computer mice are often designed for efficiency and functionality, and so we have not fully explored how much fun they can be to use, or investigated their appeal to our sensibilities. We also believed there was still great potential in exploring the user experience, for example, how a mouse fits in the hand, the way it feels to the fingers when used, and its responsiveness to movement.
We started with a question: What kind of mouse would embody the essence of Yamaha? From there, we explored a vision for a new type of computer mouse. Yamaha has long stirred emotions through musical instruments, and Yamaha Motor has created the joy of movement through motor vehicles. We wondered if we could imbue a computer mouse with the pleasing tension of immersion in music and the sense of freedom felt when cutting through the wind on a motorcycle.
Our pondering yielded two contrasting concepts: a mouse inspired by musical instruments, and a mouse inspired by mobility devices. Each is more than merely an input device—both aim to impart enjoyment and emotional value to the simple act of touching them.
Each is uniquely shaped and functions differently from the other, but they are rooted in the same basic philosophy: enriching human sensibilities. These two concepts convey Yamaha’s distinctive method of design cultivated in the discrete fields of musical instruments and mobility devices.

Works

Mouse MI

Mouse MI is a mouse shaped like a wind instrument. This shape was created as a result of trying to express the flow of electrons on a printed circuit board in a way that can be felt visually. In the black-boxed mechanism of the mouse, they attempted to visually grasp the flow of electrons by adopting a pipe structure like that of a wind instrument.
A tactile sensation of a click is like a piston valve, allowing electrical signals to be transmitted as if pushing air. Signals such as clicking and scrolling are integrated into the image sensor section of the main unit, which is the heart of the device. From there, a single tube snakes its way to the tip of the mouse, forming the outline of the mouse, where commands are sent out.
The mouse pointer speed, number of scrolls, click intervals, and other functions originally set through the OS of the PC can be adjusted more intuitively like tuning a musical instrument by having them as physical dial knobs on the mouse itself.
Digital devices will become warm, analog tools like musical instruments, giving us the pleasure of operating them.

Designer: Kazuya Washio/Yamaha Design Laboratory

Mouse MC

Mouse MC is a mouse with a frame structure like a motorcycle. It was inspired by the motorcycle, the origin of Yamaha Motor. By redesigning the monocoque structure of the mouse, which is normally associated with consumer electronics, into a combination of a frame and exterior structure, they transformed it into a vehicle-like form. The result was a design that is composed of multiple elements, but which, like the mobility design, has a sense of dynamics as a whole. The appearance of each element is designed to be "Rugged and Tough". The group of electronic components located in the center of the mouse resembles an engine, the heart of a vehicle. In addition, they tried to express the idea of "Jin-Ki Kanno," which indicates the relationship between people and tools, in the parts of the mouse that people touch, as well as in the operating feel.
Inspired by the gas pedal of a personal water craft or an all-terrain vehicle, the click part is designed to have a lever-type shape and movement. By pressing and holding the left and right clicks while holding down the thumb button, like operating a motorcycle clutch, the scrolling action is performed. This is a unique mouse design that was reborn based on Yamaha Motor's design philosophy.
The conceptual design of the two mice gives a sense of Yamaha's design method.

Designer: Etsuto Mimasu/YAMAHA MOTOR DESIGN

Process

While Yamaha Motor focused on its approach to frame structures, ruggedness, and capacity for customization in mobility devices, Yamaha concentrated on the structure and sound-producing mechanisms of wind instruments.
The two Yamahas developed unique ideas that expressed their respective structural concepts in the form and function of a computer mouse: supporting structure in the case of mobility devices, and sound-producing structure in the case of musical instruments.