The development of original concepts is not only for automotive designers. Audio and video technology also serves as an inspiration for the creators of industrial designs that are later embodied (or not) in commercial products.
We have collected the ten most notable projects of 2022, which, in our opinion, are quite worthy of going into the series.
Crescent
The fascination of the new generation of music lovers with vinyl is reflected in the course of design thought. The team’s Aromal TR concept is a vertical turntable with a tangential arm. There is nothing unusual in the idea itself, but the model is distinguished by a form factor in the form of the letter P laid on its side and a built-in system for assessing the level of contamination or wear of the plate. As it plays, it will have to evaluate the level of distortion and noise and display it on the display. In this way, the user will know exactly which of the records in the collection need to be cleaned.
Ofloo
The creation of a young Taiwanese designer, Ye Honging, looks not much different from a host of other wireless earbuds, but in this case, you need to pay attention to the large yellow button on one of the cups. The idea is to use it as a kind of joystick. The button can be moved in a horizontal plane, switching between tracks, and also rotated around its axis to increase or decrease the volume. To turn off the power of the headphones, you just need to press it.
Industrial radio alarm clock
Designer Evan Huang did not come up with a specific name for his creation, which is addressed to those who are tired of the minimalist and “licked” appearance of modern Bluetooth speakers. Similar to both a concrete mixer and a scaffolding element, the acoustic system is built on a large broadband radiator, and on the bar located across it are a matrix display and volume and source switch knobs. The display shows information about the weather, the current time and the alarm time. The stem also contains an LED light source, so that the column can also work as a lamp at the same time.
Spotify Jukebox
One of the most popular music streaming services deserves to get its own wireless speaker. The Dutch bureau Design met Pit has developed just such a product. The concept is a miniature wireless speaker in the service’s corporate colors, on the front of which there is a touch screen adapted to the Spotify interface. It displays the album cover, the lyrics of the songs being played and other service information. Of course, the column will support the proprietary Spotify Connect platform.
Thermophones
As you know, one of the main obstacles to long-term listening to music in headphones is an increase in temperature in the ear canal and fogging of the ear pads. The original development of designer Kevin Chiam (Kevin Chiam) is designed to solve these problems. Headphones called Thermaphones have two features. Their acoustic part is built on a hybrid type, combining the overhead and in-ear isolation principles, but, most importantly, the headphones will be able to regulate the temperature between 25 and 38 degrees Celsius using two built-in Peltier elements.
Beogram Remaster
Do not rush to the Bang & Olufsen vintage catalog looking for the name of this model. Of course, when creating his concept, designer Hans Baerholm was inspired by the classic shapes of Beogram and Beomaster. The system includes a turntable with a tangential arm, three-way wall-mounted speakers and a wireless receiver capable of receiving a signal from any source, showing its origin on a world map. A beautiful reimagining of a classic design.
Ocelli
This Bluetooth speaker concept was inspired by nature itself. Indian designer Shantanu Maheshwari got the idea of dividing the acoustic system into two independent hemispheres from the structure of the eyes of insects – bees and dragonflies. The metal frame separating the speakers-eyes will carry a touch screen and also serve as a charger. Of course, based on this model, it will be possible to build a miniature stereo system.
Cornucopia
Another original Bluetooth speaker project by designer Charlotte Teneza. The body of the speaker system is made in the form of an inverted horn from a gramophone, while the neck also serves as a stand for wireless headphones. According to the developer’s idea, when you place the headphones on the speaker, it will have to switch to playing the music currently playing in the headphones. The kit also includes an external wireless volume control, a bit like a stove timer.
Teenage Engineering BD-1
Korean designer Haechan Ryu has created amazing TWS headphones. Clearly inspired not only by the iconic Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizer, but also by the style of Star Wars, they are radically different from all other models on the market. The headphones are equipped with multi-colored ear pads, and on the charging case there is an AMOLED display that displays not only service information such as battery level, but also animated characters moving to the beat of the music. I would like to hope that the company will appreciate the efforts of the designer and accept the concept for production.
Odyssey
A great idea that combines everything you need to watch movies with full sound. Reminiscent of a robot from 1950s space movies, the Odyssey system was conceived by designer Alex Weber. It includes a 4K ultra-short throw projector, a roll-up screen, a 12-speaker speaker system, and a complete set of wired and wireless terminals to connect to any source.