It's hard not to like the Vestalife Firefly iPod dock and speakers, designed by California-based RKS. The company's enthusiasm for design is apparent in the product's details: Hidden hinges unfurl the speakers at a carefully calibrated angle, opening them to the sides and slightly forwards, towards the user, in a sort of welcoming gesture. The negative space tri-secting both the overall form and the metal ring on the front lead the user to visually complete the shape in his or her own head, providing a connection with the object.

None of these touches are accidental, of course; RKS designer and CEO Ravi Sawhney is a proponent of a design methodology he calls "Psycho-Aesthetics, our philosophy of emotionally connecting consumers to brands through design."

Psycho-Aesthetics is now a Harvard Business School case study, taught at leading EMBA programs globally, including USC, UCLA, Harvard, Stanford, and INSEAD. Its ability to empower and unite all key stakeholders behind a strategic design manifest is at the heart of Psycho-Aesthetics' continually increasing adoption by leading businesses.

Although the above copy, taken from RKS' website, offers no examples of who those "leading businesses" are, Sawhney has been awarded an honorary doctorate by San Francisco's Art Academy University for his work on Psycho-Aesthetics.

For further reading on the methodology, click here. You can also check out other projects by RKS, as well as more in-depth case studies.

via tuvie