Design giant, Braun is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. On this occasion, they redesigned several of their iconic models with the help of industrial designer Virgil Abloh: including the Wandanlage stereo.
Braun is one of the companies that determine how our devices look and how they work up to this day. However, a little repolishing doesn’t hurt the classics either, especially if a star designer is working on it: for the centenary of its founding, Braun hired designer Virgil Abloh (who is also a DJ) for the job, who took it as an honor.
The original Wandanlage speaker was designed by Dieter Rams in 1965. The 2021 version was reimagined with a polished chrome surface, inspired by several areas: the copper and silver instruments of the 1920s Mamie Smith blues band and the gleaming cars of 1980s hip-hop stars also hovered before his eyes.
The result is a device that fits as an artwork too, not coincidentally: the designer defines his activity as “functional art” and also uses this expression as a synonym for good design. To experience better the design process and Abloh’s inspirations, he also created a mix with The Chopstars sound designer team. The mix is available on Soundcloud, of course it would be best to listen to it on the Wandanlage…
Source: Wallpaper