How does a product resonate with the right target audience? By ensuring that technical excellence is not merely achieved, but translated into a structure and form that also connect on a cultural level.
High-end audio is a field with standards of its own. Performance is not the only consideration; what also matters is whether an object lives up to its aspirations in every detail.
For Burmester Audio, working closely with Dieter Burmester, I developed the Phase 3: a compact high-end music system with loudspeakers, retailing at €30,000.
The system had to be compact while meeting the highest acoustic standards. Deliberately angled, height-adjustable loudspeakers on cantilevered tubular-steel frames were positioned at the ear level of a seated listener. In this way, the acoustic requirement was resolved through the construction itself despite the system’s compact dimensions – visibly, comprehensibly and precisely.
For Burmester, we had developed a clear credo: nothing is done for design’s sake, but solely for functional reasons. Yet everything that is done must also meet aesthetic standards. The form is not superimposed; it addresses the task with sophistication in every respect.
At the same time, the system had to do more than organise technology. Burmester appeals to a clientele that is affluent, culturally engaged and highly discerning. A system in this price category is not judged on technical specifications alone. It must also resonate culturally.
The design was therefore consciously developed within the tradition of Classical Modernism. The cantilever motif provides an appropriate cultural reference. The details follow the same approach: honesty of materials, a clear and robust adjustment system, storage space for the remote control and set-top box, an uncluttered user interface, neatly routed cable connections and chrome-plated front panels as part of Burmester’s established visual identity.
The German Design Award jury described it as a “respectful homage to Classical Modernism” and honoured the system accordingly.
My contribution lies in bringing technical, functional and cultural requirements together in a coherent product solution. For the client, the result is a product that communicates its value to the right target audience visibly and convincingly.
Dieter Burmester once said to me: “Tom, I enjoy working with you.”
Good collaboration also reveals itself when clarity, trust and a shared pleasure in quality develop into a productive force.