Interview about Nostalx Speaker, winner of the A' Digital and Electronic Device Design Award 2025
Nostalx is a Bluetooth speaker with a retro design, equipped with both music playback and multi-band radio functionality. Its interface engages multiple senses, including touch, sound, and sight, providing an interactive listening experience. The tactile controls encourage physical interaction, setting it apart from standard digital products. In a digital age, Nostalx offers a sensory rich experience, allowing users to engage with their music in a hands-on and personalized way.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsBefore diving into concept development, we conducted in-depth research on the internal circuitry and user interface of Bluetooth speakers to define the design boundaries of the project: What could be changed, and what couldn’t be compromised?In parallel, we explored a wide range of retro-inspired industrial designs through museum visits and online archives. We also studied trend reports to better understand the cultural and psychological reasons behind the resurgence of vintage aesthetics. This research laid a solid foundation for our later form exploration.Following this fast yet thorough research process, we moved into the concept design phase. We sketched extensively, then gradually filtered out options that were incompatible with the engineering requirements, focusing on refining the most promising directions. For us, appearance and engineering are not treated separately—they must be developed in tandem from day one. A good product is where design and function meet seamlessly.
As part of our early research, we studied the evolution of music storage and playback technologies—from phonograph cylinders to lossless digital formats like WAV, and from gramophones to modern streaming platforms. The trajectory of innovation had long favored smaller, faster, and more accessible formats. Convenience was king.But in recent years, an unexpected shift has emerged: the resurgence of vinyl records. Despite being bulky, fragile, and acoustically imperfect, vinyl has regained popularity. This reversal fascinated us. It revealed that users are no longer solely prioritizing efficiency—instead, they are seeking emotional resonance and the tactile comfort that only physical objects can offer.This insight sparked a key question for our team: could a similar shift happen in music playback devices? Could we bring emotional value back to audio hardware?NostalX was born from this line of thinking. We wanted to explore how interaction itself could become part of the emotional experience. That’s why we deliberately chose to design with tactile controls—not just as a nod to the past, but as a way to invite users to slow down, reconnect, and enjoy music with intention.
The visual design of NostalX was heavily inspired by one of the most iconic music storage formats in history: the cassette tape. Its introduction marked a major shift—people could finally access high-quality music anytime, anywhere. That era also gave birth to some of the most beloved industrial designs of all time. I mean, who didn’t love the Walkman? (laughs)By incorporating instantly recognizable visual cues from that period, NostalX taps into a shared sense of nostalgia and emotional safety. At the same time, its unique interactive interface offers something fresh and unexpected. That’s the experience we aimed to create—a product that feels both familiar and exciting, grounded in memory but designed for the present.
maintaining the product's cohesive aesthetic?As industrial designers, it’s easy for us to get carried away with beautiful renderings and forget that a product only creates real value once it reaches the user's hands. In this project, the most challenging part was balancing the interface design with the hardware layout—creating a prototype that was both functional and true to the intended aesthetic.At times, it felt like a constant tug-of-war between design and engineering. We wanted a button placed in a specific position for the best user experience, but the circuit board simply wouldn’t fit. So what do you do? You negotiate, you iterate—and sometimes, you break a few components along the way (laughs).Thankfully, we had support from some great engineers during this phase. After several rounds of trial and error, the final prototype turned out to be incredibly satisfying. Everyone who has held it in their hands asks the same question: “When can I buy one?”
This part of the project was particularly challenging. We spent a significant amount of time calculating the relationship between the rotation angles of the knobs and the corresponding movement on the dashboard display. Using CAD software, we simulated the motion and fabricated test parts using laser cutting and 3D printing to validate the mechanism.Although we encountered some issues during the final assembly—something that’s almost inevitable in physical prototyping—the result turned out very well. The mechanical response was smooth, accurate, and visually satisfying. Seeing the components move in harmony after so much iteration was incredibly rewarding.
As industrial designers, we’ve always been fascinated by CMF design. Different materials evoke different emotional responses, and we believe that a product’s surface treatment can communicate just as much as its form.During the research phase, we curated a mood board of vintage products to guide the material direction. We also explored a wide range of possibilities through rendering experiments, visualizing how various textures, colors, and finishes could shape the personality of the speaker. While time constraints meant we could only prototype one CMF variation with high feasibility, the renderings allowed us to communicate a broader vision for the product line.One detail we especially enjoyed was naming each CMF direction after a famous music genre—like “House,” “Synthwave,” or “Rock & Roll.” It added a layer of narrative and made it easier for music lovers to choose a version of NostalX that reflected their personal taste and style. After all, music and design are both deeply emotional, and we wanted NostalX to celebrate that connection.
In a world where everything is optimized for speed and convenience, we’ve observed a growing counter-movement among consumers—especially in the realm of music. People aren’t just looking to play music quickly; they’re seeking moments of pause, presence, and personal connection. They miss the ritual.NostalX was our response to that shift. We wanted to bring back the small but meaningful physical gestures that once made listening to music a richer experience—turning a knob, pressing a button, waiting for the sound to warm up. These actions may seem minor, but they invite users to slow down and engage more deeply. They create a rhythm between the person and the product.
Savannah, Georgia is a city known for its slow pace, rich history, and unmistakable Southern charm. Living and designing there—far from the fast-paced energy of tech-driven cities—naturally inspired us to infuse more warmth and emotional depth into our work.One of the most vibrant cultural moments in Savannah is the annual Jazz Festival, which fills the streets with music and celebration. Even on ordinary nights, you can walk into a karaoke bar and be surprised by an incredible live performance. In fact, some of the CMF directions for NostalX were directly inspired by those experiences—the colors, the textures, the mood of music echoing through the city.
The emotional power of music doesn’t come solely from portability, affordability, or even sound quality. The resurgence of vinyl has already proven that. We believe the future of audio device design will move beyond minimalism and pure functionality. As consumers become more emotionally attuned and design-literate, they are seeking products that offer not just convenience, but also character, texture, and a sense of connection.With NostalX, we explored how physical interaction, rich sensory engagement, and emotional storytelling can coexist with modern technology. We hope this approach inspires future designers to rethink what “innovation” truly means—not just smarter features or slimmer forms, but deeper, more meaningful, and memorable experiences.
We believe what resonated most with the jury was NostalX’s ability to bridge modern technology with a deeply human, emotionally rich user experience. Rather than treating innovation as a pursuit of more features or digital complexity, we focused on redefining how people feel when they interact with an audio device. From the tactile controls to the nostalgic form language and curated material choices, every detail was designed to evoke memory, warmth, and presence.We think the jury recognized that innovation doesn’t always mean futuristic aesthetics or cutting-edge tech. Sometimes, true innovation lies in reintroducing forgotten values—slowness, tangibility, and emotional connection—back into everyday experiences. That’s the kind of user-centered design we strive to create.
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