By Steve Birge
With more than a million Zune players sold, how can you pick yours out in a crowd? Thanks to the new Zune Originals program, you can give yours a personal touch by adding professional graphic artwork from its Artists Series. The back of the device can be laser-engraved with one of 27 designs created by internationally recognized artists, including two Microsoft employees.
Cutting-edge graphic art gives the device a strong statement of individuality, said Thomas Markert, Zune Entertainment creative director.
“Zune Originals at the top level allow consumers the ability to literally build their own Zune,” he said. “The consumer picks a color and then has engraved whatever they like on it, whether it’s five lines of text, a smaller design called a ‘tattoo,’ with or without text, or a design from the Artists Series. With that, the device is all yours, totally different than what you’d buy at retail.”
Zune creative director Ramiro Torres and graphic designer Iosefatu Sua are among the 18 artists supplying designs for the series. Sua, in fact, has three designs among the available selections. Torres’ offering reflects a classic graphic design approach with symmetrical, bold, rounded shapes, while Sua’s line art drawings reflect his Pacific Island heritage as a native of New Zealand.
“We’re really embracing the idea of Microsoft employees being diverse people with diverse passions and interests,” Markert said. “We love the thought that we all bring to the workplace something unexpected.”
Zune art director Ramiro Torres’ offering reflects a classic graphic design approach with symmetrical, bold, and rounded shapes.
“I was very excited to have my illustrations be part of the Zune Originals project,” said Sua. “When I created my images, I didn’t think too much of relating my work to Zune. I think it naturally does so without force. The great thing about Zune is that it lets me be who I am without compromise. So I did what I enjoy doing the most: draw inspiration from multicultural imagery and share it with those who don’t necessarily see it on a regular basis.”
Selecting any of them will create a Zune that adds external self-expression to the personal statements the device pipes into one’s headphones. Currently, that external self-expression can only be obtained through ordering online at www.zuneoriginals.net. But Markert noted it does not add to the device’s price.
“It’s no more expensive than buying at retail, as currently we’re not charging for engraving or shipping,” he said. “It’s an added bonus for people who want to buy something custom or unusual. Art is so subjective, but with as many design choices as we have and as diverse as it is, we have something for everyone.”
In advance of Valentine’s Day, 20 smaller “tattoo” designs are now available at the site. The new artwork, created by four artist collectives, is available through February 14.
