March 2020
ertonline.co.uk
Pictured: Focal’s Kanta range of speakers. Left: The Mojo DAC and Headphone Amplifier from Chord Electronics. Below left: Eclipse TD712 speakers. Below: The Ruark R7 Mk3 speaker.
Far left top: The Asimi range of cables from Atlas Cables. Far left: Chord Electronics’s ULTIMA amplifier. Left: The A9 digital amplifier from Bang & Olufsen.
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living room, the music would be strong and rich and it looks stunning”
the Ultima, the brand occupies a unique, often thrilling design niche.
John Franks, Owner and Chief Designer, says he never looks at other products for styling inspiration. “I tend to approach a new product in the way design is undertaken in an aerospace project,” he tells us. He likens his process to designing inside out. “I take care of ergonomics as the design progresses; I’m continually asking myself ‘how would someone use this?’”
Devising a look that’s both practical and iconic is no easy task, he adds: “I never look at a particular design’s price first, which could be seen as my failing! I prefer the price to be shaken out and argued over later,” quips Mr Franks.
“Much of what myself and Rob Watts (Chord
Electronics’ Design Consultant) have done, would perhaps have never seen the light of day if the design was determined by pricing! But once done, people seem to get why we’ve gone to so much effort. Fortunately for us, people are prepared to pay for excellence.”
Bang & Olufsen is a byword when it comes to excellent industrial design. So what informs the Danish brand’s design language and how does it manage to be cutting edge and somehow traditional at the same time? Kresten Bjorn Krab-Bjerre, Creative Director, says it’s all down to use-case and some solid engineering. “By ensuring that form and function are so strongly related, it automatically results in a timeless appearance,” he tells ERT. Disc players are often cited as fine examples of industrial design (none more so than B&O’s BS9000 vertical CD player), but creating a comparable impact in the era of streaming audio is difficult, yet Bang & Olufsen managed it with its circular A9 music system. “Streaming speakers deliver convenience, and this
has created a completely new user experience which made our listening behaviour more casual than with the traditional stereo setup,” explains Mr Krab-Bjerre. “The A9 nailed that use-case perfectly. You could place it anywhere in your living room, the music would be strong and rich and it looks stunning.”
Hi-Fi interconnects may not spring readily to mind when thinking of examples of design innovation, but clearly Kilmarnock-based Atlas Cables puts a lot of thought into its high-end offerings.
“When the least expensive thing you sell looks
incredibly expensive to an uneducated consumer then you need to make sure that you set out with the ‘total product’ and target customer in mind at the beginning of the design process,” says MD Kevin Kelly. “When designing our Asimi range of cables we managed to engage the services of a young Industrial Designer whose previous projects had been car interiors for Jaguar Land Rover. We knew that the hand-produced Asimi would be expensive to make, however we also wanted outstanding performance, bespoke aesthetics and unique packaging often associated with the best designs. “By promoting front of shop and with equal weighting to the superlative products they serve, then benefit will flow directly to the consumer.” We can’t help feeling that if Dieter Rams were into high-end Hi-Fi he would approve.
“You could place it anywhere in your
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