21 year old Casey Lin is working on her Bachelor of Design Innovation at the Victoria University of Wellington. With a Bachelor of Architectural Studies already under her belt, the New Zealand based Chinese designer is primarily focused on product design, with a special interest in furniture, jewellery, lighting and household electronics. One of her most recent projects is the Timbre Speaker, an unusual design I wanted to share with you.
Timbre Speaker trims the essence of a speaker down to the very bare minimum, allowing the inherent qualities of the materials to become the centerpiece of the design. All superfluous detail is stripped away, leaving only the necessary audio and power ports at the rear, and combined power and volume dial.
Wood and glass were selected for their favourable acoustic qualities which enhances the audio experience of the user. The Black American Walnut wood adds a warmth to the tone, while the addition of the glass vessels bring a more reverberant characteristic to the music.
Surface transducers are mounted on the interior of the wooden box, vibrating the surface and turning the box into a speaker. The glass vessels act as physical equalizers, where the vibrations transfer through the wood into the glass and changes the timbre of the sound. The wooden box can act as a standalone speaker, or alternatively, vessels of other material, size or shape can be placed on the speaker to change the sound according to the users taste.
Timbre Speaker has an elegant, yet playful feel to it, users are encouraged to experiment with different objects and placements to find the timbre they enjoy the most.
above: Designer Casey Lin
all images, video and description courtesy of Casey Lin.
