Project Blueprint

Walkman: SONY and the First Portable Music Player

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How do you create a product that people don’t even know they want? 

Before Steve Jobs made Apple famous for the iPod, he was inspired by another visionary: Akio Morita, the co-founder of SONY. 

Morita turned a small Japanese startup into a global powerhouse and, along the way, wrote the playbook for designing revolutionary products. 

At the heart of the story is the SONY Walkman – a deceptively simple idea that forever changed how the world listens to music.

In this episode of Project Blueprint, we explore how SONY combined creative technology, product design, and marketing to create one of the most influential consumer products ever made.

What You’ll Learn:

  • The origins of SONY and Akio Morita’s vision to rebuild Japan through technology
  • How breakthrough products are conceived, designed, and launched 
  • The marketing secrets behind SONY’s global rise and how you can use them to share your own ideas 

    • Chapters:

    (00:00:00) - Introduction

    (00:02:48) - WWII

    (00:17:12) - Founding

    (00:29:42) - Tape Recorder

    (00:46:11) - Selling to America

    (01:06:45) - The Walkman

    (01:31:15) - Launch

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      Project BlueprintBy Will Heinzel and Stephen Lasky