Skip to content
Cobble Bluetooth Speaker (ब्লুটুথ স্পীকার) by Eric Wu

Cobble Bluetooth Speaker (ब्লুটুথ স্পীকার) by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award ᱞᱚᱦᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ in ᱵᱮᱵᱦᱟᱨᱤᱭᱟᱹ ᱤᱞᱮᱠᱴᱨᱚᱱᱤᱠᱥ Competition Category.


ᱞᱚᱦᱟᱵᱮᱵᱦᱟᱨᱤᱭᱟᱹ ᱤᱞᱮᱠᱴᱨᱚᱱᱤᱠᱥ· 2025

Cobble Bluetooth Speaker (ब्লুটুথ স্পীকার)

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

A' Design Award ᱞᱚᱦᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ Winner in ᱵᱮᱵᱦᱟᱨᱤᱭᱟᱹ ᱤᱞᱮᱠᱴᱨᱚᱱᱤᱠᱥ Category

40,651

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #167221

Colors

The Design

About Cobble Bluetooth Speaker (ब्লুটুথ স্পীকার)

Cobble ekta Bluetooth bookshelf speaker kana ronor upor gote interactive interface a'kana. Punya magnetic peg ko grid ren binti binti pattern re thapa okoy dahaw. Jokhon preset pattern go pura hoy tara, speaker do saved sound profile ko badea kana, jeman nature ar white noise loop lekhan. Cobble do connected device khon audio lagit'ye normal Bluetooth speaker lekhante kam sedae kana. Peg ko thapa akana do Go board game re umoliye kana ar hormo jugi cetan ren okta chotok samoy re nimin kalam ge sedae kana. Prototype do wooden casing, sand-blasted acrylic panel ar LED light strip ko lagao akana kana.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award ᱞᱚᱦᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ

Cobble Bluetooth Speaker (ब्লুটুথ স্পীকার) ᱫᱚ A' Design Award ᱞᱚᱦᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ ᱧᱟᱢ ᱟᱠᱟᱱᱟ, ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱫᱚ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱠᱚ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱮᱢ ᱟᱠᱟᱱ ᱥᱚᱢᱟᱱ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ᱾ ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱫᱚ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱᱟᱨ ᱠᱚ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱵᱷᱟᱵᱱᱟ ᱟᱨ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱠᱟᱢᱤ ᱡᱷᱟᱞᱠᱟᱣ ᱠᱚ᱾ Cobble Bluetooth Speaker (ब्লুটুথ স্পীকার) ᱫᱚ ᱠᱚᱞᱟ, ᱣᱤᱜᱭᱟᱱ, ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱟᱨ ᱴᱮᱠᱱᱚᱞᱚᱡᱤ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱥᱤᱢᱟ ᱵᱟᱲᱦᱟᱣ ᱟᱨ ᱫᱩᱱᱤᱭᱟ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱜᱚᱲᱚ ᱮᱢ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ᱾

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

Sponsored

Explore Beyond Designers.org

Discover products, services and opportunities from our advertising partners.

Good Design Deserves Great Recognition

The A' Design Award is an international, juried accolade for good design. Take part in the A' Design Award to get an opportunity to earn meritocratic recognition, gain fame, prestige and publicity for your work. Nominate your work for the A' Design Award and compete for the coveted A' Design Prize.

Nominate