Cobble Speaker Bluetooth by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award Beusi in Éléktronik Konsumén Competition Category.

BeusiÉléktronik Konsumén· 2025

Cobble Speaker Bluetooth

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

A' Design Award Beusi Winner in Éléktronik Konsumén Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #167221

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Cobble Speaker Bluetooth

Cobble nyaéta speaker rak buku Bluetooth anu boga antarmuka interaktif dina permukaan luhurna. Opat pasak magnét bisa ditempatkeun dina pola anu béda-béda dina hiji grid. Nalika hiji pola anu geus ditangtukeun réngsé disusun, speaker bakal maénkeun profil sora anu geus disimpen, saperti sora alam atawa loop white noise. Cobble ogé bisa dipaké minangka speaker Bluetooth biasa pikeun audio ti alat anu disambungkeun. Cara nempatkeun pasak-pasak ieu ngingetkeun kana kaulinan papan Go sarta ngajak pikeun heuras sakedapan konsentrasi jempé. Prototipe ieu ngagunakeun casing tina kayu, panel akrilik anu geus di-sand-blast, sarta strip lampu LED.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Beusi

Cobble Speaker Bluetooth mangrupa juara A' Design Award Beusi, pangakuan anu bergengsi anu dipasihkeun ka desain alus anu minuhan sarat profésional jeung industri anu diharepkeun tina kréasi anu dirarancang alus. Para juara Beusi nunjukkeun kaahlian anu hébat, spésialisasi anu luhur, pamahaman ahli jeung kamampuh kréatif para kréatorna. Cobble Speaker Bluetooth diharepkeun jadi kréasi anu dihargaan, dikagumi jeung dipikanyaah anu praktis jeung inovatif. Desain juara A' Design Award Beusi ieu ngalebetkeun prakték pangalusna industri sarta ngabogaan ciri téknis anu mampuh pakait jeung pangweruh praktis jeung bakat. Cobble Speaker Bluetooth dihormat pikeun katelitianana sarta dirarancang pikeun méré paningkatan kualitas hirup anu mantuan ngajadikeun dunya tempat nu leuwih hadé.

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