AIWA EXOS-9

The team understood the importance of any new product with the Aiwa brand would have to speak to the millions of Aiwa loyalists and uphold the historic brand values.

Known for making high quality audio equipment for the masses, Aiwa’s core values were embodied in beautiful, architectural themed industrial designs, married with a subtle color palette and pop color. The geometric frames were often intersected with angled graphic lines as a means of disrupting an otherwise quiet and minimalistic form.

This style continued into the 1980s, and the transference of the minimalistic language to larger stereos were embodied by simply showing the speaker cones themselves. The beauty of the product is the quality of audio output, and the interactive elements are visually secondary to the oversized drivers placed prominently for the viewers to admire. The chrome material detail around the cones highlight their massive size by providing stark contrast to a quiet background.

This trend continued into the 1990s when Aiwa rose to prominence with their bookshelf speaker systems. The three piece design featured oversized left and right speaker columns with removable covers, allowing users to showcase the beauty of their investment. The interfaces remained subtle and functional, save for the large, prominent volume knob.

These became the quintessential speaker system of the time as Aiwa created the visual expectation for a bookshelf speaker by leading the category in sales and performance.

By looking into its history, the team wanted to pull the signature elements from the height of Aiwa’s success. Minimalist, architectural forms could be intersected with angular lines. The logos from the height of their market success would speak to the Aiwa purists. The use of colors, materials, and finishes, such as gloss black, chrome, and a pop teal color could be utilized in a modern way while still respecting the past.