Sonos Era 100 & 300
Product CMF & Design Strategy
CMF Lead — Home Audio / 2023
Intro
The Sonos Era family introduced a new chapter in home audio. Era 100 evolved the beloved Sonos One with refined performance, materials, and hardware UI, while Era 300 launched a bold new form factor designed to enable spatial audio. Together, the programs balanced continuity and innovation—updating a trusted icon while defining a future-facing design language for immersive listening. The Era family also marked Sonos’ first application of a sustainable materials strategy across cosmetic parts and assembly, establishing a new foundation for future products.
GOAL
Evolve Sonos’ home audio CMF language by refining a familiar product and introducing a forward-looking material and finish strategy that supports spatial audio, sustainability, hardware UI and next-generation performance.
Challenge
For Era 100, the challenge was preserving the warmth and simplicity that made Sonos One a favorite while modernizing materials, finishes, and hardware UI. For Era 300, the challenge expanded to supporting a new acoustic architecture and expressive form factor—introducing innovation, sustainability, and material complexity without compromising the clarity and restraint central to Sonos’ design ethos.
Research & Strategy
The CMF strategy balanced legacy and innovation. Research included competitive analysis, in-home context studies, and material exploration to ensure both products felt cohesive within the Sonos ecosystem while clearly signaling progression. Material and finish decisions were guided by acoustic requirements, manufacturability, sustainability goals, and the need for visual consistency across two distinct product expressions.
The CMF strategy centers on Sonos’ core SKUs: White for the home, and Black for audio.
Implementation & Collaboration
Partnered closely with Industrial Design, Engineering, Acoustics, Sustainability, and Quality teams to align CMF decisions with new performance and environmental requirements
Developed and validated sustainable materials for cosmetic parts and assembly, ensuring durability, color consistency, and tactile quality
Collaborated with suppliers to refine finishes and surface textures across complex geometries
Led CMF reviews to maintain cohesion between Era 100 and Era 300 while allowing each product its own identity
Exploration & Prototyping
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> Develop new PCR material white
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> Mute switch color indicator
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> Icon design language update
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> Optimize Compliance manufacturing
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> Logo finish strategy
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Develop Hardware UI Strategy
Final Outcome
The Era family delivers a cohesive yet differentiated CMF expression. Era 100 feels familiar, refined, and modernized, while Era 300 introduces a confident, innovative material language that supports spatial audio and future-forward listening. Together, they establish a clear evolution of Sonos’ home audio design language while embedding sustainability into visible product expression.
Reflection
Material responsibility and premium design can coexist.
Working across both Era 100 and Era 300 reinforced the importance of restraint in innovation. By integrating sustainability into cosmetic parts and assembly for the first time, the program demonstrated that material responsibility and premium design can coexist—resulting in products that feel intuitive, elevated, and unmistakably Sonos.