{"id":217,"date":"2021-03-11T09:13:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T09:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aqipa.klixpert.io\/?p=217"},"modified":"2023-01-16T08:55:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T08:55:09","slug":"100-years-of-braun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/www.braun-audio.com\/en-gb\/history\/100-years-of-braun\/","title":{"rendered":"100 years of Braun."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"hx wp-block-heading\">Celebrating a centenary.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In February 1921, Max Braun set up a repair shop in Frankfurt, Germany. What followed is a timeline that saw these humble early beginnings become an esteemed global brand name. Design experts and key brand figures came together recently to discuss 100 years of Braun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"preview\"><div class=\"label\"><\/div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"100 Years of Braun\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/uPhYPLF1kkk\/maxresdefault.jpg\"\/><\/div><iframe title=\"100 Years of Braun\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uPhYPLF1kkk?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"hx wp-block-heading\">A past of milestones.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Oliver Grabes, Head of Braun Design, credits the secret to good design to two things ingrained in the brand&#8217;s DNA:<br \/><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<ol><li>Having strong principles that come to life in simple, useful and long-lasting products.<\/li><li>Being devoted to those values completely to create trust.<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The first modern product showcasing these ideas was a Braun audio device: The SK2 valve radio from 1955, which contrary to comparable products that looked like old furniture pieces, wasn&#8217;t dark-wooden and curved and neither featured a plethora of decorations and golden elements nor thickly woven fabric to cover the speakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This radio was different. Modern and focused on what it was designed to do; there was nothing on the unit that wasn&#8217;t needed. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"image_container\"><picture><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/braun-sk2-valve-radio-1955.jpeg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"Braun SK2 valve radio from 1955\" \/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The same is true for the ET66, a calculator designed by <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/braun-audio.com\/10principles\" target=\"_blank\">Dieter Rams<\/a> to be easy to use and straight-forward. Everything has a purpose. As per their standard colour coding, the green and red buttons indicate on and off, respectively, while a yellow design element was added as an equals button to make the calculator more approachable. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"image_container\"><picture><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/braun-et66-calculator.jpeg\" width=\"750\" height=\"750\" alt=\"Braun ET66 calculator\" \/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>An item as beautiful as it was practical, the Sixtant SM31 razor from 1962 in many ways represented what Germans refer to as &#8216;Haltung&#8217; (approach). Ben Wilson, industrial designer and design director at Braun, says it stood for a <em>way of doing things<\/em> with its simple unibody frame and its revolutionary black finish at a time when everything else in the category was white. The shaver became the <em>face of technology for men.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"image_container\"><picture><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/braun-sixtant-sm31-shaver.png\" width=\"1024\" height=\"790\" alt=\"Braun Sixtant SM31 shaver\" \/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Braun is about bringing together the attributes of long-lasting, sustainable and purposeful. These characteristics have always proven successful, and it&#8217;s the brand&#8217;s job now to translate them into the modern world and beyond. Products need to be considered in the context of their time. Looks and styles change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Supply needs to adapt to the new demands. And grooming is a good example here. The trend went from clean-shaven to a fondness for beard and stubble. Design usually has connotations related to art and aesthetic, but Braun also gives it a functional definition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"hx wp-block-heading\">Good design for a better future.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Virgil Abloh, a Chicago entrepreneur and designer, currently serving as artistic director for Louis Vuitton men&#8217;s wear and CEO of his Milan-based luxury fashion label Off-White, calls Braun a master of functionality, quality and simplicity and of creating a <em>unified experience with design at the centre of the stage<\/em>. With the so-called &#8216;Wandanlage&#8217; (wall unit), Braun introduced a groundbreaking new way of listening to music. It was the height of design, <em>audio that lives on a wall as art<\/em> as Virgil puts it. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"image_container\"><picture><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/braun-wall-unit-control-unit-ts-45-tape-recorder-tg-60-two-loudspeakers-l-450.jpeg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"731\" alt=\"Braun wall unit consisted of control unit (TS 45), tape recorder (TG 60) and two loudspeakers (L 450).\" \/><\/picture><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Reimagining this piece into a piece of functional art requires a familiarity with the ethos of product and brand as well as a sense for the textural aspects of colour, material and finish. Virgil took on the task of <em>transcribing new cultures with timeless design<\/em>, bringing the hifi wall unit into a new era with a chrome effect that acts almost as a mirror reflecting the object&#8217;s own history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The message is to build classic and functional art so that <em>different generations can experience the same sentiments<\/em>. Read more about the project <a href=\"https:\/\/braun-audio.com\/stories\/chapter?slug=virgil-abloh-x-braun\" title=\"\">Virgil Abloh and Braun Audio<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"hx wp-block-heading\">Future developments.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The majority of Generation Z believes that design should help lead a better life, save time and space, have sustainable qualities and be accessible and easy to use. Decluttering is becoming more and more popular, and inclusivity is treasured by the masses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Creative consultant and editor of Wallpaper magazine Henrietta Thompson considers Gen Z an important audience as it includes some of today&#8217;s most influential and engaged people, saying they should be <em>listened to<\/em> rather than <em>underestimated<\/em>. With the notion of &#8216;less but better&#8217; on the rise, the impact of design on the environment cannot be ignored either these days &#8211; it\u2019s a movement much more than a trend. With this changing model of consumption, good design becomes the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Activist, photograph and filmmaker Alice Edith points out the value of accessibility because <em>young people are engaged and asking questions.<\/em> They\u2019re a global community that pride themselves on being <em>citizens of the world<\/em> and think products should be accessible within reach to everyone regardless of gender, age and culture. In the future, design will have to be in line with <em>conscious consumerism<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tawanda Chiweshe, design and studio director at Virgil Abloh\u2019s London-based Alaska Alaska design studio, credits Gen Z with the increasing need for functional art, stating they expect simplicity and want to see results. It\u2019s about <em>engaging, world-building and story-telling<\/em>, things the Braun wall unit exemplifies. The future of design rests on the merits of responsibility, accountability, empowerment and diligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ben Wilson adds transparency to that list of design values. By <em>constantly listening to occurring dialogue and adapting accordingly<\/em>, trust is built, which is a decisive factor for many customers. What Braun is taking away from the analysis of Gen Z, according to Ben, is a reassurance for <em>creating a vision for the future<\/em> as repairability and longevity have been at the brand\u2019s core for a century now and will remain there for the next hundred years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In February 1921, Max Braun set up a repair shop in Frankfurt, Germany. What followed is a timeline that saw these humble early beginnings become an esteemed global brand name. Read all about it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"lang":"en-gb","translations":{"en-gb":217},"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":388,"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions\/388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.braun-audio.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}