Cobble Kōrihariha Puoro Bluetooth by Eric Wu

Cobble Kōrihariha Puoro Bluetooth by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award Rino in Hoahoa Pūrere Matihiko me Hiko Competition Category.

RinoHiko Kiritaki· 2025

Cobble Kōrihariha Puoro Bluetooth

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

A' Design Award Rino Winner in Hiko Kiritaki Category

40,651

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #167221

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Cobble Kōrihariha Puoro Bluetooth

Ko Cobble he kōrihariha Bluetooth mō runga i te papa pukapuka, he mea whai atanga tauwhitiwhiti kei tōna mata runga. E wā ngā pine autō ka taea te whakatakoto ki ngā tauira rerekē i runga i tētahi matiti. Ka oti tētahi tauira kua whakaritea i mua, ka whakatangihia e te kōrihariha tētahi kōnae oro kua tiakina, pēnei i te rongoā taiao, i te oro mā rānei e rere tonu ana. Ka taea hoki e Cobble te mahi hei kōrihariha Bluetooth māori mō te oro mai i tētahi pūrere kua hono mai. Ko te whakatakoto o ngā pine e whakamahara ana ki te kēmu papa e kīia nei ko Go, ā, he tono tērā kia whai wāhi poto ki te ata noho me te aro nui. Kei te whakamahi te tauira tuatahi i tētahi kōpaki rākau, i ngā papa pēkapeka acrylic kua pupuhihia ki te onepū, me ngā rārangi rama LED.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Rino

Ko Cobble Kōrihariha Puoro Bluetooth te toa o te A' Design Award Rino, he whakaaetanga whai mana e hoatu ana ki ngā hoahoa pai e whakatutuki ana i ngā hiahia ngaio me te ahumahi e tūmanakohia ana mai i ngā mahi kua hoahoatia pai. Ko ngā toa Rino e whakaatu ana i te pukenga nui, te tohungatanga teitei, te māramatanga mātanga me te kaha auaha o ō rātou kaihanga. E tūmanakohia ana ko Cobble Kōrihariha Puoro Bluetooth he mahi whakanuia, whakamīharotia, aroha nui, he whaihua, he auaha hoki. Ko tēnei hoahoa i toa i te Rino e whakakotahi ana i ngā tikanga pai rawa o te ahumahi, ā, he āhuatanga hangarau pūkenga tōna e hono ana ki te mōhio me te pūmanawa. E whakahonoretia ana a Cobble Kōrihariha Puoro Bluetooth mō tōna tōtika, ā, i hoahoatia hei whakapai ake i te kounga o te oranga me te āwhina i te ao kia pai ake.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Cobble is a speaker with an interactive interface at the top. The user has access to 4 pegs that they can place in various patterns. When preset patterns connect, the speaker plays a saved tone. The speaker is made with the concept of "inadvertent mindfulness." Studies have found that the simple action of concentrating on one's actions offer moments of respite. By placing pegs, much like how one places stones in a Go game, the user enjoys a moment of peace.
Dimensions & Packaging: 7 1/2" (width) * 7 5/16" (depth) * 2" (height)
Tags: Speaker, Office, Mindfulness, Audio, Music
Production Technology: The prototype was constructed with a wooden casing with a four-panel construction. Sand-blasted acrylic panels are used to diffuse the lighting from LED light strips. The prototype control panel was made from an Arduino nano and will be replaced with more efficient chips in mass production. We experimented with various sensing methods and settled on magnetic sensing with Hall effect sensors as they appeared to be the most reliable.
Design Challenge: The hardest part was figuring out the sweet spot of a big enough surface area and a compact enough footprint, the product being a shelf speaker after all. People wanted to engage with the interface but too much of it offered diminishing returns and research participants had more complaints of space constraints.
Research: User research was conducted in collaboration with co-working spaces. We tested hypotheses like the following:
- How much spacing and how big do people prefer the pegs to be
- How many rows and columns work the best, offering novelty and comfort without overloading the user
- What footprint works the best without sacrificing too much room for interaction
Inspiration: The design originated in a desire to question the prevalence of active mindfulness practices today. We have meditation apps, mindfulness sessions offered by corporations, and many more. While mindfulness is great, there are alternative activities that humans go to for similar purposes, without bearing the label of "mindfulness." Go, the Asian board game using stones, was a primary inspiration. What if we could have something built in that stimulates a sense of mindfulness, just like Go?
Project Duration: Duration: 6 months
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Operation Flow: The product behaves like a normal bluetooth speaker, so the user can connect to it with an end device and play whatever they want.

The unique interaction is that it can save and activate various sound profiles, which can be activated via placement of the magnetic pegs. The user would have to download a mobile app to change the default profiles, which are nature and white noise sound loops.
Team Members: Eric Wu
Image Credits: Photos: Eric Wu