Bang & Olufsen
Art of the A9
For the 10th anniversary of the remarkable A9 speaker, B&O turned its circular canvas into an artistic canvas! We aided the pioneers of audio in developing the campaign’s visual identity.
In a technological era unlike no other, speakers nowadays just don’t look like clunky plastic bricks that they used to. Thanks to the artful unity of design and audio innovation, many of them look like sculptures. The groundbreaking design of B&O’s A9, inspired by the shape of sound, is a prime example. In fact, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a piece of furniture! Designed with carefully selected materials and uncompromising attention to detail, that’s exactly what they had in mind.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the A9, Bang & Olufsen reinterpreted the distinctive circular canvas of sound, into a canvas for art. A selection of some of the world’s most exciting artists were invited to take part in the project, contributing their talents with bespoke artworks. From the airbrushed abstract style of Parisian illustrator Alexis Jamet to the energetic lettering of South African-Portuguese Visual Artist Vanessa Teodoro.
Bang & Olufsen invited us – partnering with Nirvana CPH – to create the campaign visual identity that would run across packaging, print and in store point-of-sale.
As the A9 is a beautiful and completely unique object, it felt right to hone in on its trademark circular shape; not only showing consumers exactly what they'd be buying, but also championing the artist's piece within the collaboration.
The rest of the design emphasises the commissioned works, with the colour palette directly deriving from each piece of art. Rather than using flat colour as the backdrop, we opted for gradients as a way to visualise the sound and feeling of each collaborator, emanating from the B&O A9. It gave us an opportunity to bring more depth to the identity, whilst pursuing an engaging and brave brand output for B&O who were beginning to roll out a new brand identity.
Working within B&O’s new brand guidelines, we used Lineto’s bespoke typeface Beosurpreme as the prominent font throughout all outputs. As a geometric sans-serif, it worked nicely with the rest of the identity’s minimalist forms. These elements, once combined, establish a simple yet memorable look that puts the art at the heart of the project.
