Oz Shenhar

Specialized in Musical Instrument Design.

Oz Shenhar

About Oz Shenhar

Oz is working as a product designer since 2006, while he worked as a product manager for the R&D team of Aqua Creations (by the designer Ayala Zarfati) and designed the Mobile collection: "Grace 7 Mobile Light" & "Nana 200 Mobile Light". After he became a freelancer, he started specializes in patent development for conceptual consumer product design. He founded New-Create that designed a revolutionary technology for floating products and has 2 international patents on the technology concept. Since Oct-2018, he is the CEO of Zikit Drums, which also has a patent.

  • Winner of the A' Design Award.
  • Specialized in Musical Instrument Design.
  • Original Design.
  • Creative, Diligent and Innovative.
  • All Designs
  • Musical Instrument
Zikit Diameter Change Mechanism

Zikit Diameter Change Mechanism

Musical Instrument Design

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Interview with Oz Shenhar

Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?
Being a Designer is not so easy. I graduated in 2000, and it took me 10-15 years to reach a point that I know how to transfer my thoughts to a product that can give a significant added value to the user.
Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?
Right now Zikit is a one-man game, only that I have the luck working with talented partners and subcontractors.
What is "design" for you?
Transforming the gifts you got to fiscal products that communicate positively with reality.
What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?
I worked for Aqua-Creations LTD for 5 years, and I think that they are great and innovative in the field of lighting fixtures.
What is your favorite material / platform / technology?
Though I was a founder of a technological start-up in the field of robotics, I am a low-tech guy. I am trying to use material and technology as a creative tool for the major concept.
When do you feel the most creative?
I start working when everyone is eating dinner. For me, 6 hours of night work are compared to 10 hours during the day.
What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?
My emotions come up only when I think of the added value for the end-user.
What makes a design successful?
My design field starts with solving problems. If we are doing that, this can lead to a successful design.
When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?
If we are talking about designing a new concept for consumer products, which is my field, solving problems always should come first, but there are many routes to get to the target. For me, the best way to get to the target is always doing a good "market fit" dynamic plan. A new concept that reaches this big plan will also have naturally a great design.
From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?
We got our gifts and we need to spread it out positively, as simple as this. We are defiantly not the issue.
How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?
Technology brought some good things and some bad things. One of the bad things is physical interactions that do not include screens. We can see that ADHD is in growth, and also depression, and we should definitely think about that.
When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?
NAMM show 2020. Zikit is part of the music industry, and this is where we put our efforts.
Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?
I was a founder of 2 start-ups in the last 7 years. The best way to feed creativity was always by brainstorming with my colleagues.
How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?
I never start thinking about design with anyone's style. The design should come from a pure will to solve a problem.
Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?
Where I live has a lot of influence on the way I think and work. Even more than I can understand. Israel is a very powerful place. Israel is the second most innovative country in the world. Tel Aviv is the second to Silicon Valley as the most important technology center in the world. This is a very inspiring place to live, and Zikit is a by-product of my incredible partners and subcontrocutes.
How do you work with companies?
It is not obvious to understand the "other side" needs. As much as the "other side" is involved with building the product-market fit plan, the result will be better.
What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?
I like designers that know their limitations, as much they know their skills.
Can you talk a little about your design process?
I am trying to test my design and engineering concepts with a few of my colleagues. Then build a product-market fit map, and a temporary team in target to test first prototype with a potential end-user.
Can you describe a day in your life?
Zikit is now in a manufacturing phase. I am working with my engineers to optimize our design for mass production, and in between working on logistics, marketing materials, package design.
Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?
We are growing moving from one institution to another. Stop. Think of who you are. You are defiantly not a by-product of the institution you learned in or of the company you work for.
What is your "golden rule" in design?
See that you are happy in your personal life. It will make you a better designer.
Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?
I think for the best tools to communicate with the end-user, and I build my toolbox according to that.
Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?
We must concentrate on our goals without giving self distractions to run our lives.
What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?
How did you think about that? Is there something similar already?
What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?
Building the prototypes. Seeing plans transferring to physical parts is great.
Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?
I see teamwork essential for successful design. Sometimes your team can be temporary subcontractors. You don't have to use the same team for each job.
Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?
Zikit is launching 2 products. The self-installed diameter change pro-kit, that can fit any 14" snare drum, and a dedicated Zikit snare drum. We are 100% working to give drummers for the first time this versatility option, to change the snare drum pitch in real-time

Extended Interview with Oz Shenhar

Could you please tell us about your experience as a designer, artist, architect or creator?
I graduated in 2000 at the age of 26, and it took me about 6 years to find the right studio that will fit my abilities, and it was working for Aqua Creations, which was a great place to work for. I liked this combination of technology and craft. After 5 great years, I started to work on my first start-up.
How did you become a designer?
Designers have this gift to transform conceptual thoughts into items.
Which emotions do you feel when designing?
Zikit is part of the music industry, and this is where I put my efforts.
What particular aspects of your background shaped you as a designer?
Legends there are only in legends. We all need to work hard and to experiment in many fields until we find our sweet spot.
What are your advices to designers who are at the beginning of their career?
Finding a "hidden" problems and solving them elegantly is a good design from my perspective.
You are truly successful as a designer, what do you suggest to fellow designers, artists and architects?
Good designers have a multidisciplinary vision. They will always have new ways to solve problems differently.
What is your day to day look like?
I love my job in Zikit drums. I'm filling that I am in the right place, and in the right industry.
How do you keep up with latest design trends? To what extent do design trends matter?
Zikit drums is my dream project, I was looking for this day for almost 10 years. This project is my dream and many drummers dream, and I fill lucky that it came realized.
How do you know if a product or project is well designed? How do you define good design?
I am trying to test my design and engineering concepts with a few of my colleagues. Then build a product-market fit map, and a temporary team in target to test first prototype with a potential end-user.
How do you decide if your design is ready?
I worked for Ayala Zarfati for 5 years, and I think that she is a 100% designer.
What is your biggest design work?
I like what Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta from Studio Drift are doing. They think out of the box, and they walking between design art and technology in the right wat to reflect their concepts.
Who is your favourite designer?
Conceptually, my work for New-Create was the greatest one, the thing that makes me think it is great is from the fact that it failed. Google mentioned us in their patents, many companies were interested in our technology, only that it probably wasn't the time, and it took from us too much effort finding the right market for this product.
Would you tell us a bit about your lifestyle and culture?
Experience in different platforms, work with new colleagues. There are so many sources for e-learning for inspiration. But in the end, I was trying to understand what are my real skills are, and focus on them.
What are your philanthropic contributions to society as a designer, artist and architect?
The basic design is to take a concept and zoom it in, into an object. If it is a consumer product, it must also go into the process of market fit plane and design according to technology and manufacturing processes.
What positive experiences you had when you attend the A’ Design Award?
My partners in Zikit drums took me to new places professionally, and I thank them for that.

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