When Darkness, Gloves, and Rain Become Design Requirements
A digital binocular that combines day vision and infrared, integrates a laser rangefinder, and is IP67-certified - that's already a technically demanding task. SEEQ was also required to be operable blind: with gloves on, in the dark, under stress, without any instruction.
What initially sounds like a defense product was actually intended for a broad civilian audience. Projekter Industrial Design developed SEEQ together with their long-standing electronics partner b1 Engineering Solutions, on behalf of a major German high-tech manufacturer - targeting mountain rescue teams, firefighters, and customs officers, as well as rangers, sailors, and passionate private users in hunting, nautical sports, and nature conservation. What all these users have in common is not the situation, but the expectation: a device that is reliable, feels precise, and projects that quality.
This posed a design challenge that goes far beyond shaping: developing controls that work blind - without overloading the housing with buttons. And simultaneously designing a housing structure that meets IP 65, IP 67, and IK 06 standards, without becoming disproportionately complex to manufacture.
Three Directions, Many Models, One Design Language
In Phase 1, Projekter developed three fully elaborated design directions - not variant sketches, but coherent design positions, each with its own formal language, character, and communication toward the user.
Three Directions, Many Models, One Design Language
In Phase 1, Projekter developed three fully elaborated design directions - not variant sketches, but coherent design positions, each with its own formal language, character, and communication toward the user.
Design 1: extrude
The base body is a straightforwardly extruded cylinder with an oblong slot section. Large radii serve as a design tool and give the device a calm, clear silhouette. The grip area is visually and haptically distinguished from the functional area through generous grooves and structured rubber coating. The device communicates: precise, technical, reliable. No noise, no distraction.
Design 2: tense
Tensioned surfaces alternating between concave and convex create a calm, ordered form with latent energy. Chamfers break the surfaces and define clear regions: the front remains angular - signaling function, technology, performance. The rear becomes soft — signaling: this is where you hold on. A U-shape element runs through the entire form as a guiding design element, giving the product a visual logic that reveals itself to the user without needing explanation.
Design 3: tough
Complex form transitions, many details, a tool-like character. Form protrusions give the user natural grip without adhesive rubber pads. Visible screw connections are not a structural compromise, but a deliberate design element: they tell the user "I am solid. I am sealed. I am serviceable." Protruding rubber bumpers protect the housing - and whatever the device lands on if dropped. The design language is reminiscent of high-performance tools: competence you see before you even pick up the device.
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All three directions were not only developed as CAD data and renderings. Projekter Industrial Design produced numerous physical preliminary models and dedicated ergonomics models - tangible objects to hold, grip, and test. The size is accurate, the weight is simulated, the switch position is real. Because a device that must be operated with gloves cannot be validated by assumptions. It must prove itself - in the hand, not on screen.
{{rt-three url1="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6656d8a983a8c6b731d1d5c3/6a049ba663fc3908cff81097_seeq-ergo-1.avif" alt1="Physical ergonomics model of the SEEQ binoculars – front view for grip geometry evaluation" url2="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6656d8a983a8c6b731d1d5c3/6a049ba6983cd3b0334fd541_seeq-ergo-2.avif" alt2="Physical ergonomics model of the SEEQ binoculars – top view for control placement assessment" url3="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6656d8a983a8c6b731d1d5c3/6a049ba679e9720e0d633d04_seeq-ergo-3.avif""}}
The question of where the thumb naturally rests while carrying, how far fingers can reliably find the LRF button in the dark, whether the eyecups instinctively align when raised - these are not detail questions. These are core questions. And they can only be answered with physical models.
Controls as an Independent Design Discipline
Parallel to the form development, Projekter developed three fully elaborated control concepts. This may sound like detail work - but it is strategic. Because a product of this complexity can function in fundamentally different ways. Whichever concept is chosen determines not only the user experience, but also component count, assembly effort, and service complexity across the entire product lifecycle.
{{rt-three url1="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6656d8a983a8c6b731d1d5c3/6a049ba6cd79046730a9919e_SEEQ-UI-concept-1.avif" alt1="SEEQ control concept 1 – switch-based layout with one dedicated control per function" url2="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6656d8a983a8c6b731d1d5c3/6a049ba69e52f273ef2272a2_SEEQ-UI-concept-2.avif" alt2="ASEEQ control concept 2 – mode toggle separating optical and software functions via a single switch" url3="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6656d8a983a8c6b731d1d5c3/6a049ba6d77c74ac12eb4f9e_SEEQ-UI-concept-3.avif""}}
Control Concept 1: Switch-Based
Every function has a dedicated switch. Power via slide switch, LRF via thumb button on the right, IR/VIS toggle via rocker switch, zoom, menu, snapshot - every button has exactly one task. The logic is unambiguous: maximum intuitiveness, even without instruction, even in the dark, even with gloves. The trade-off: more components, more housing penetrations, more sealing points.
Control Concept 2: Mode Toggle
Fewer switches, but context-dependent assignment. A toggle on the left hand separates optical functions from software functions. This significantly reduces the number of controls - the housing stays cleaner, the sealing plane becomes simpler. The user needs slightly more mental model, but gains a more compact, uncluttered device.
Control Concept 3: App Integration
Configuration functions move to a smartphone. The connection runs via WiFi; the device itself is reduced to the operational minimum: power, LRF, toggle switch, focus wheel. Whatever isn't needed in the field isn't on the device. This radically reduces complexity - and relocates it into an app interface that can be updated and localized more easily. Attractive for professional users with fixed workflows; a question of acceptance for spontaneous deployment situations.
All three concepts were developed consistently on the basis of the same housing geometry. This was not coincidental, but methodical: only in this way can the decision between concepts be reduced to the actual question - which control philosophy suits the user and the deployment context? - without form differences skewing the judgment.
A Study That Shows What Integrated Product Thinking Means
SEEQ never went into series production. The study remained a study. And yet - or precisely because of this - it is a clear example of what Projekter Industrial Design means by industrial design: not form-giving after the engineering is done, but simultaneous thinking across all relevant dimensions from the very first line.
The housing structure was not sealed retroactively. From the outset, it was conceived as an IP-compliant system: a lidded cavity mold as the main body, a front panel as a mounting plate, flat parting lines with sealing elements, a strategically considered internal layout. Each of these decisions has consequences for assembly time, error rates, and serviceability - and was considered from Phase 1, not corrected in Phase 3.
The three design directions give the client not just aesthetic options - they make different positioning strategies tangible:
- Extrude relies on a clear, calm form: maximally universal, without polarizing.
- Tense combines technical precision with understated elegance: the device for the discerning user who wants to see quality without noise.
- Tough communicates a tool character and robustness: the device for those who need it in daily field use.
Which direction is ultimately pursued is not a purely aesthetic decision - it is an answer to the question of who you want to reach on the shelf and what story the product should tell about its brand.
The Takeaway
Good industrial design is far more than a beautiful rendering. It is the structured thinking-through of a product - from the user searching for a switch in the dark with gloves on, to the sealing plane that determines reliability in wind and weather, all while keeping manufacturing costs in view.
The key learning: Controls are not a downstream UX topic - they are a design decision with concrete consequences for engineering, manufacturing, and cost. Those who develop three control concepts in parallel and test them physically make a well-founded decision in the end — not a gut call. And those who plan the housing structure to be IP-compliant from Phase 1 avoid expensive corrections in Phase 3.
