Interview with Onanoff

I started my career in this industry as part time job with university in Iceland, on the floor in electronic store as salesman, then have transferred from international sales into purchasing and manufacturing in Asia and finally to my own company and designs, I want to think that all the parts have helped me equally to make me the designer I am today.

Simplicity towards users interface, if the user cannot figure how to use the product in an intuitive way, it makes for bad experience and normally frustration follows. I want users to be able to use my designs with comfort and ease. The focus of my designs are making basics work better, simplify and enhance and leave the user happy and at ease.

The design process can bring a whole rainbow of feelings. Everything from frustration when things are not going well to elated thrill when things work out the way you want them to. When I design I feel very focused and creative, I think those two feelings I get are some of my best qualities.

My experience in international sales, purchasing and manufacturing has given me valuable insight into how design should work from a business standpoint. Growing up in Iceland has had a priceless affect on my aethestic, which is very Nordic. My design style is very straightforward. It's characteristics are simplicity and modernity. It's very form-meets-function. If your product looks nice but doesn't work or sell well, it's worthless. It needs to perform just as it will look pleasing to the eye resting on your coffee table.

Our team is committed to researching and developing kid-centric designs for safe audio products. We are capitalizing on the success of our current products and designing products that protect hearing and enhance the listening experience for a wider age range- like young teenagers and the modern professional. We are also working on pushing the boundaries of ultra thin speaker technologies that is super portable and designed for global business people on the 'go'.

Stay true to your goals, your vision and your designs- designers and people working in creative industries have a social responsibility to make things better. Improve, progress and evolve. Design touches and influences how we live and how we use things and how we get things to work for us. It can make your life easier and more beautiful. Designers need to carry on the torch of betterment of all things, and that is a lot of responsibility.

With all design, there is an element of trial and error, we are human and doomed to make mistakes and seldom things happen correctly in the first go. The key is to keep at it, don't give up. Use your errors to learn and improve, and eventually you'll get to where you want be.

I try to squeeze in an early morning run, it's a great start to the day. Head to the office and spend the morning answering emails, after which I will see my team for a meeting to go over marketing and sales. Finally I like to spend the rest of my day working on new designs and upcoming projects. In the evenings I'll walk my dog Snowy, cook a hearty meal at home while listening to music.

One way that I keep up with the latest design trends is through the trade shows we attend. We are regulars at CES, and it's a great way to tap into the most innovative products coming out. You could even consider them ahead of the trend, as many of the products are launched at the shows.

I always consider if the design serves the initial purpose. In my opinion, form always needs to meet and merge with function for it to be a truly good design.

My design process is very organic. I swear by the power of pencil and paper for getting the design process underway. I like my ideas and design to flow together. If I have already put solutions into place, if I am working on another aspect of the design and suddenly feel like I need to revisit those that I thought done, then I must. I tend to go back and forth until I'm happy with the result. This allows me to methodically craft my designs without letting any little things slip through the cracks.

Designing the full range of BuddyPhones has been our biggest project. We currently have 7 different models each with unique features to meet kids various listening needs. It's a project that keeps expanding as we evolve alongside what kids need out of a safe audio product. For example, now that kids frequently use devices and headphones at school to learn, we have incorporated StudyMode, which cuts out interference and enhances vocals to make it easier to focus.

One of my favourite designers is Arne Jacobsen, who designed the Egg Chair. I know it sounds like bit of cliche answer, but his design is amazing in every aspect. I admire the modernity of his work in the context of the 60s.

I'm a permanent resident in Hong Kong, but am originally from Iceland. I draw lots of inspiration for the brand’s design from my Nordic heritage but the vibrant Hong Kong lifestyle has also left its mark on my designs. It's a melting pot of different cultures, and I feel has brought more value to my design in their own unique ways.

We have a close knit design team at our company. I lead it along with two young local Hong Kong designers that bring a lot of dedication and hard work to our projects. We've worked together for several years now on many different projects. The team is very collaborative and I'm always inviting their opinion on things, rather than dictating how things must be. They are very capable across print, product, packaging and 3D designing.

Our BuddyPhones designs play a crucial role in bringing awareness to the risks of hearing loss in children. We also teach young kids how to have good listening habits that they can keep with them for life. We partner with hearing loss groups, local schools, and mom bloggers to spread awareness about this cause.

It's important for us to participate in established design competitions to prove that we are serious about safe audio for kids. A lot of work goes into the design and development of our products, so being recognized for that is essential for us as a company, but also for customers to know that we are committed to protecting kids hearing through well-designed headphones that parents can trust and kids will love.

We are all about merging creativity and practicality in our design. We like to offer people simple accessories and gadgets to enhance and improve so they can get the best use out of their devices. We focus on delivering functional and stylish solutions that fit with active urban lifestyles, busy families, and those constantly on the go.

For me good design is something that is tailored for the function it holds. The function can be various things, like usability or provocation of thinking and getting people to see things in an entirely new way.

After having gotten to know the market for children's products and the quality, or lack thereof, driven by licensing rather than function, quality and safety for kids, it has become the field of design I find most inspiring to work in. It's where I feel I can bring true value.

The Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen. I know it sounds like bit of cliche answer but it's design is just amazing in every aspect. Everything from the modernity of it and that it was made in 1958. It's just such a classical design and it speaks to me.

I did a super portable speaker way back in the beginning when people were starting to make ultra thin speakers that fit the lifestyle of people that are always on the go and needed something to complement that active lifestyle.

My favourite would be the NXT technology, that is a key component in our speaker development, it allows use different surfaces as a speaker. I'm very excited about NXT.

I feel most creative when I'm running, I love running. I like to do long distance runs with good music playing in my ears and let my mind wander in search of solutions and ideas.

Simplicity towards users interface, if the user cannot figure how to use the product in an intuitive way, it makes for bad experience and normally frustration follows. I want users to be able to use my designs with comfort and ease. The focus of my designs are making basics work better, simplify and enhance and leave the user happy and at ease.

The design process can bring a whole rainbow of feelings. Everything from frustration when things are not going well to elated thrill when things work out the way you want them to. When I design I feel very focused and creative, I think those two feelings I get are some of my best qualities.

At first, it's almost emptiness as I feel I have put all my passion and energy towards it, so I feel I need to distance myself from it until I can revisit it again with same passion or start a new project. But handing in a finished design is a great source of happiness and achievement. I think it must be for all designers.

Trial and error, we are human and doomed to make mistakes and seldom things happen correctly in the first go. The key is to keep at it, don't give up. Use your errors to learn and improve, and eventually you'll get to where you want be.

I always consider if the design serves the initial purpose. In my opinion, form always needs to meet and merge with function for it to be a truly good design.

I believe designers and people working in creative industries have a social responsibility to make things better. Improve, progress and evolve. Design touches and influences how we live and how we use things and how we get things to work for us. It can make your life easier and more beautiful. Designers need to carry on the torch of betterment of all things, and that is a lot of responsibility.

The world of design is opening up, more people are getting involved, educational level is rising, which is good and can only bring great things. I believe design and technology are increasingly aligning, complementing one another to bring us forward to the future. I see lines between different types of design, industrial, digital, interface and technology blurring, resulting in cross-platform experiences in the future. At least, it's what I hope for.

Creativity and art runs in my family. I think I get my eye and appreciation for forms and function from my mother, who is a sculptor. Being of the Apple generation, I also have to give some credit to Apple designs for inspiration. I like to feed my creativity with everything, everywhere. Nature, architecture, exercise. People-watching is also a big feed to my creativity, watching a tired mother usher her family through a busy airport makes me think how I could design something to make their life easier.

My design style is very straightforward. It's characteristics are simplicity and modishness. It's very form-meets-function. If your product looks nice but doesn't work well, it's worthless. It needs to perform just as it will look pleasing to the eye resting on your coffee table.

I'm a permanent resident in Hong Kong, but am originally from Iceland. I draw lots of inspiration for the brand’s design from my Nordic heritage but the vibrant Hong Kong lifestyle has also left its mark on my designs. It's a melting pot of different cultures, and I feel has brought more value to my design in their own unique ways.

Quite well I believe. Collaborations are always a give and take kind of situations. What is important is to be patient and respectful, do you work well and the rest will follow.

Do a little background check, what has that designer worked on before, does he or she follow his or her convictions, what are his or her goals, where do you see the designer in a few years time. Choose someone who is passionate about what they do.

My design process is very organic. I swear by the power of pencil and paper for getting the design process underway. I like my ideas and design to flow together. If I have already put solutions into place, if I am working on another aspect of the design and suddenly feel like I need to revisit those that I thought done, then I must. I tend to go back and forth until I'm happy with the result. This allows me to methodically craft my designs without letting any little things slip through the cracks.

My Alessi lemon squeezer, designed by Philip Starck. My Joseph Joseph chop2pot chopping board. My chef knives from Victorinox. My Hang It All in walnut by Charles Eames. And, of course, Sound Cover from onanoff.

I try to squeeze in an early morning run, it's a great start to the day. Head to the office and spend the morning answering emails, after which I will see my team for a meeting to go over marketing and sales. Finally I like to spend the rest of my day working on new designs and upcoming projects. In the evenings I'll walk my dog Snowy, cook a hearty meal at home while listening to music.

Don't give up. If design is something you are truly passionate about and if you feel you can bring something valuable to the field, keep at it. Everyone will stumble and fall at some point. It's those who rise again and keep going that will get to where they want to be.

The world of design is an exciting one. There are new discoveries to be made around every bend. It's a changing and evolving field and to be taking part in shaping that world and the way we live in it is pretty exciting too. It's one of the positive things that I love about being a designer. The negatives aspects is that there is a lot of competition in this field, you need to be constantly on your toes to stay ahead of the game, which can be draining. However, if you believe in yourself and find fulfilment in what you do, it is easy to overcome.

Staying true to your goals, your vision and your designs.

Focus, determination and being detail oriented. I can't stress that last bit enough, it's all in the details.

Spliff, donk og gengja. PÉTUR!!!

Staying organised is of vital importance. Plan your days and weeks well ahead and stick to your plan. Work hard, but be careful to set some time aside to enjoy with friends and family too. A designer's happiness will be reflected in his work, making it all that much better.

It can be everything from months to years, depending on the project really.

What inspires me to create my products.

I started my career in this industry as part time job with university in Iceland, on the floor in electronic store as salesman, then have transferred from international sales into purchasing, manufacturing in Asia and finally to my own company and designs, I want to think that all the parts have helped me equally to make me the designer I am today.

We are working with number of international clients like SoftBank, Toys'R'us, RadioShack, HMV, Virgin Megastore to name a few.

I enjoy designing products for kids. Especially during a testing phase of a product. They are my hardest critics and will always give it to you straight. When I've designed something that they enjoy using and makes them happy, it makes me happy. I also get pretty stoked when parents express their gratitude for my products.

My future plans is keep building and expanding onanoff. Adding new product ranges as well as improving our existing one. One can always do better and I'm excited to see where the future takes me.

I develop the designs myself but I could never do what I do without my amazing team. Their ideas, input and constructive criticism means the world to me and having their support, be it in design, marketing or sales is what helps our company grow strong.

We are working on pushing the boundaries of ultra thin speaker technologies that is super portable and designed for global business people on the 'go'.

People can get in touch through our website onanoff.com, by email agnes@onanoff.com or by telephone: +852 2393 0306. To get through to me personally, feel free to email me at petur@onanoff.com.

I think we've covered it all. Thank you!