Industrial Designer — Portable Music Instrument (Creative Direction / Phase 1)

Body: We're building a portable music groovebox heading to Kickstarter and hiring a designer for Phase 1: creative enclosure direction. Background: We ran an earlier post for an industrial designer and built a strong shortlist of engineering-focused candidates — mechanical development, tolerances, connector placement, DFM, mold-ready files. Those candidates are in the mix for Phase 2. What we didn't find — and what this post is for — is a creative mind for Phase 1. Someone who can translate a strong brand identity into an enclosure that feels inevitable rather than templated, and who can hold aesthetic vision while respecting the hardware constraints we hand over. Creative freedom inside a defined box — not free-form artistry, not slavish spec-following. About the product: Handheld portable instrument, roughly the size of an OP-1 or Organelle. 58-key playing matrix, 4 soft-function buttons above the screen, 4 parameter knobs below the screen, capacitive strum strip, display Battery-powered, premium build, targeted at working musicians and beat producers Design anchors: MX-style mechanical switches for the 58-key playing matrix. The matrix is the performance surface — switch feel must stay uniform for playing consistency, but keycap material, color language across sections (chord, bass, drums, instrument), and accent positions (octave roots, mode markers) are wide-open design real estate. The 4 soft-function buttons above the screen are the most obvious hero candidates for distinctive treatment — unique switches, custom caps, backlighting, or whatever visual language reinforces brand identity. Designers are welcome to propose additional or alternative hero elements too. What we're chasing: something that looks striking and reads as a real tool — not a toy, not a slick consumer prop. Alternative switch platforms (Kailh Choc, custom dome, etc.) welcome if realistic for Kickstarter-scale production and preserving a healthy keycap/accessory ecosystem. Physical anchors: the 4 knobs, strum strip, display, and I/O positions are locked. Locations, dimensions, and full component layout reference will be shared with shortlisted candidates at sketch phase, along with the brand identity package. Manufacturing reality: No injection molding. V1 volumes are Kickstarter-scale (sub-1K units), which doesn't justify IM tooling costs. Concepts that assume IM won't ship. CNC-friendly forms preferred — aluminum, phenolic, billet plastics, machined details. Sheet metal, cast parts (vacuum cast urethane for soft-touch or textured accents, investment cast metal for detailed hardware), and CNC wood are all viable. Premium feel is the target. CNC aluminum + hybrid material accents (wood, phenolic, cast urethane) is the realistic sweet spot for hero-unit tier. 3D print is fine for prototyping and internal parts, but visible surfaces should feel like real tool materials — SLS/MJF surface finishes don't read as premium. Show us you understand the tradeoffs of low-volume production. What we're looking for: Portfolio with strong personality in physical objects — instruments, cameras, audio hardware, consumer electronics, mechanical keyboards, anything where form carries meaning Opinionated instincts about materiality, silhouette, and proportion Demonstrated ability to work within tight hardware and manufacturing constraints without letting them flatten the design What we're NOT looking for right now: Engineering/CAD-first portfolios with no concept development Rendering-only portfolios with no form or concept work Generic consumer product portfolios with no signature Concepts that assume injection molding as the default manufacturing method Designers who treat mechanical keys as generic square buttons rather than as design surface Scope & rate: Shortlisted candidates receive a paid sketch task. $200 flat, 7-day turnaround. Deliverable: 1–2 concept sketches of the enclosure direction Materials, colors, and finish callouts annotated directly on the sketches — metal type, wood, phenolic, texture, color, surface treatment, and how each part gets made (CNC / cast / machined / sheet metal / etc.). Include your keycap direction (material and color language across the playing matrix, and hero treatment for the 4 soft-function buttons above the screen — or your alternative hero-element proposal). Don't hand us pretty pictures; hand us designed intent. 3–5 short intent notes — the design rules you're establishing (silhouette ratio, corner radius as signature element, bezel treatment, key surround geometry, whatever carries the personality). These are what Phase 2 will hold the line on during mechanical development. One-paragraph rationale on how your direction reflects the brand identity we share with you Winning direction from the sketch task moves into Phase 1 full contract — negotiated with the selected candidate. Phase 2: Our Phase 2 shortlist is largely set. We're not opposed to adding another strong Phase 2 candidate — but please apply for Phase 1 only. If you're a full-scope designer who can also carry Phase 2, note that in your application and we'll consider it. Don't apply for Phase 2 alone through this post. To apply: Share your portfolio. No generic cover letters. Shortlist within 5 days.