Speakers today have outgrown their humble origins as mere audio equipment. Whether they’re proudly standing beside your TV or are discretely sitting on your shelf or coffee table, speakers have grown to become a part of your room’s decor and ambiance, especially the newer breed of smart speakers. The majority of commercially mass-produced speakers, however, still adhere to common designs and simple forms, mostly revolving around cylinders and rectangles. Of course, there are also quite a number of notable speakers that look more like art pieces or decorative accessories rather than hi-tech audio gadgets. This wireless speaker concept design is clearly aiming for the latter class but tries to add a bit of portability to the formula, though that part is a little questionable.
Designer: Mohammod Sanaullah
Many of the speakers that are elegant and beautiful are also the ones that you’d prefer to keep at home. Sure, many of them might be wireless, making it trivial to move around the house, but their price and build might not make them ideal for outdoor use. On the other hand, the speakers that are designed to be really portable often come in designs that prioritize durability and ease of handling over aesthetics.
This wireless speaker concept tries to give the best of both worlds with a portable speaker that looks interesting enough to be considered decorative in any context. Instead of a typical bar or barrel shape, it takes the form of an arch, which is basically a long bar that is bent into a smooth curve. In addition to being a more visually interesting shape, it also helps direct audio in multiple directions, with speakers lining the outward-facing surface of the arch.
The speaker’s shape also makes it easy to carry without having to introduce handles that ruin the otherwise clean design. The arch itself is, in a way, the handle, and you can easily lift it up from its center to carry it. Save for a few inches on each end, the speaker is covered with the now typical fabric that most speakers have today. The textured surface gives it additional character, almost like rough concrete used for architectural arches. It also provides a bit more grip when carrying the speaker and holding its body.
Of course, this design is pretty much just theoretical, so its portability is still in question because of its relative size to most portable speakers. It at least challenges the status quo of portable speakers adhering to simple forms and shapes, as if they are only meant to be heard but never seen. These speakers might indeed have different priorities compared to speakers that stay at home, but it might only be a matter of time before they also become objects of aesthetic beauty as well.
