General Forum

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Chrisreunion — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:42:25 GMT

I was browsing the net today and this is what I found on Steve Mac Gugan's website, which I've pasted shamelessly below.

Nice touching story about the making of Form 2's..

QUOTE:

In the world of consumer electronics, products come and go as the wind blows. Some last six months

on the market, others can last a few years, but in general it is very seldom that a Hi-Fi accessory can

stand the test of time and still be on the market after 25 years.

Bang & Olufsen’s Form 2 headphones had their 25

birthday in 2010. Here is the story of how a pair of simple

headphones, have lived a long and quite life.

From 1978 to 1981 I attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California, USA to study industrial

design. During this period I had learned about a company in Denmark that was producing some of the most

fantastically designed Hi-Fi equipment on the market. At first sight I had fallen in love with their products and the

company. The first stereo I ever bought, was of course a Bang & Olufsen Beomaster 1900.

Near the end of my education at Art Center, I decided that I wanted to work as industrial designer some where in

Europe. Therefore I thought what better place to start my design career than to work for Bang & Olufsen. So I

wrote to them and said, “hey I would like to work for you as a in-house designer”. After a couple of interviews and

talks back and forth, I got the job.

In 1982 I was getting ready to travel to Denmark to start my career as product designer for Bang & Olufsen. In

preparing for my trip, I decided to purchase a Sony Walkman to take with me as I always enjoyed listing to music

and found this new product idea, which Sony had launched in 1979, to be a fantastic way to enjoy music

whenever and wherever. This little product would turn out to have a big influence on some of my future ideas for

Hi-Fi design.

The first year at Bang & Olufsen was full of new learning experiences as well as exploring some of the ideas that I

had floating around in my head. Some time in 1983, I had the idea that B&O needed a more compact and

lightweight headphone in their product range. I thought that this type of headphone would be ideal to use together

with B&O’s existing Hi-Fi products as well as together with a Sony Walkman. At the time the headphones that

came with the Walkman where not at a high standard of design. With a Bang & Olufsen designed headphone the

Walkman consumers could enjoy good sound together with a nicer looking design. I started to sketch some ideas

and created some 3D cardboard models. After a while I chose a design and presented it to my boss, Jens Bang.

He looked at the model and said, “this looks really nice, but we have Form 1 headphones which is our top of the

line model. We don’t need a cheaper headphone in our product line”. I though “well OK, it was just an idea” and I

put the model up on a shelf in my office. One year later Jens Bang comes into my office and says, “I remember

that you had made a design proposal for a lightweight headphone some time ago, do you still have the model”. I

looked around on my shelf and found it still lying there. I dusted it off and handed it to him. Jens looked at it and

said, “it still looks good, we’ll make it”.

The next step was to get the designed engineered and ready for tooling. A mechanical engineer working at B&O

at the time by the name of Bent Gørbel

was assigned to create the final mechanical construction.

In 1985 Form 2 headphones hit the market. In 1992 the headphones where accepted to the Museum of Modern

Art’s permanent design collection. At one point a Chinese company had copied the headphones and were selling

them under another brand. B&O’s legal department quickly put a stop to this. In the late 90’s B&O was

considering phasing out Form 2, but Apple suggested that they continue producing them because they were ideal

for their iPod, which had become a huge success.

When seeing all the newfangled electronic products and accessories that have come and gone over the past 25

years, it has shown me that having the right idea and keeping things simple is a good formula when designing a

new product. I find it amazing that these little headphones have continued to appeal to consumers thru all these

years, delivering good sound quality with a stylish and classic design, first for the Sony Walkman generation and

now for the iPod generation. I am very grateful that Jens Bang and Bang & Olufsen had changed their minds and

saw the potential of introducing a new headphone into their product assortment.

This is absolutely one of my all times best designs, which I am very proud of, and I’m thankful to all the

consumers that still find the design desirable.

S TE VE M CG U G AN IN DU ST RI AL DE SIG N MDD

UNQUOTE

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Evan — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:49:44 GMT

9 LEE:
I'd have kept the headband, but made the ear pads into closed ear.

Looks like you got your wish Lee!

Albeit not in B&O guise...

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Zoggerty — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:01:04 GMT

Has anything changed internally? Or is it just the new looks?

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Chris — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:26:05 GMT

You know what, and contrary to my previous posts i bought i white pair yesterday. Rather cheaply using my children as an excuse i nipped into the Newcastle branch to get my monthly fix. And now as i try and watch the Rugby, my little boy is sat next to me listening to Village People! and absolutley loving them.

Rebranding etc is a marketing gimmick, but lets face it my little boys will hopefully spend the next 70 odd years also following the brand and doing their bit to secure the companies future. Further to that and after spending the evening listeng to them on an Ipad, i really like them(again)

Do yourself and your dealer by supporting them by getting a pair. I told the wife they were the right thing to get as they match her Imac, and she agrees! Cheap, but and for a change, honest Couldn't make the image smaller for the life of me.

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Jonathan — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:34:56 GMT

Also, the Asian market love branding. The bigger the better!!

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

folkdeejay — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:12:32 GMT

I think there is an amount of missing the point here - deliberate or otherwise.

I am sure many here would never wear a D&G T shirt, with the logo 2 feet across your chest, or a belt buckle in a designer logo - or a huge baseball cap with a logo all across the peak....

BUT ...people do, and they pay more for these T shirts, hats and so on than Form 2 sells for.

So - if a new, younger, more brand-aware customer can be attracted by bright colours and a designer logo, great.

When they walk round town with a big B&O visibe on each ear - great. Free advertising.

To illustrate the point that a single brand can have "mass appeal" and be aspirational to many, and still be able to make and maintain a high end, top quality range....does the fact armani make casual clothes and accessories with large, obvious logo's and available on the high street, detract from the high end, well tailored, bespoke business suits costing four figures??

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

linder — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:20:44 GMT

Evan:

All this talk of Form-2s has prompted me wear mine to campus today. I can't even begin to imagine how many more people would be staring at me if they were orange!!

They might stare but will be amazed when you tell them the Form 2 is a piece of history. Form 2 was introduced before you were born

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Evan — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:48:09 GMT

All this talk of Form-2s has prompted me wear mine to campus today. I can't even begin to imagine how many more people would be staring at me if they were orange!!

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Puncher — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 06:51:26 GMT

Oh Dear!

Maybe they can do a shoulder strap and battery pack for the BS8 in the same colours!

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Stonk — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 03:25:33 GMT

TripEnglish:

The fact that the logo doesn't light up is a missed oppurtunity.

....and it should flash in time with the beats!

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

TripEnglish — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:15:21 GMT

The fact that the logo doesn't light up is a missed oppurtunity.

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Jonathan — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:05:57 GMT

In the early 90's, Porsche almost disappeared. In order to survive, and to build magnificent 911s, the built the Boxster and the Cayenne.

I think B&O needs to do a similair thing, and I don't mind if the build some awful cheap bling-bling, as long as they keep making speakers like the Beolab 5.....

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

elephant — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 05:23:45 GMT

Michael:
which store is the new one?

That would be this one :-)

Bang & Olufsen is excited to announce the opening of our brand new Richmond showroom. In this stunning new setting you can experience our range like never before, from small gift items to the awe-inspiring new 3D BeoVision 4-85 television.

ADDRESS
579 Church Street, Richmond VIC

T: 03 9576 2355

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Michael — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:52:01 GMT

elephant:

I picked up the new B&O brand positioning brochure from the new Melbourne store yesterday

hi :-)

which store is the new one?

- michael

Re: Now the Form 2's have had a splash of colour!!!

Tod Daniel — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:09:27 GMT

They are mentioned in the Sunday Times 'Style' magazine for men today!!! I buy around 5-6 'smart' magazines a month and i've NEVEr seen an advert for the BeoSound 8 very very strange how are people supposed to know about a product if it isn't advertised occasionally?