European Enterprise Award 2020

EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2020 European Enterprise Awards 35 , Best Multimedia Furniture Design Agency 2020 First shown in 2007 at the International Furniture Fair IMMinCologne, theminds behind Sonic Chair have enjoyed success ever since. Over a decade later, we get an insight intowhat drives the creators of the ‘one-person concert hall’ experience. Dec20270 interactive installations for fairs and shows in Cologne, Germany. A breakthrough came when it was commissioned for a design in 2006 by a bank in the south of Germany, and from this was born the idea for the Sonic Chair – an acoustic and personal comfort marvel integrating speakers directly into a chair. Despite that deceptively simple description, the Sonic Chair is truly a marvel of engineering. It applies the concept of the acoustic island, a body-borne sound system, and a circular design to create an environment where the customer can listen to whatever they want as loud as they want with little noise emission disturbing others. Each Sonic Chair is individually designed and crafted in the company’s hometown of Cologne to fit every customer’s unique specifications – and it ships them worldwide to satisfy an international clientele both private and professional. It uses semi-anilin leather and stainless steel, incorporating audio solutions that allow connection both remotely and via audio jack to computers and TVs. Sonic Chair gives the user a truly surround-sound experience. Furthermore, since its first iteration, Sonic Chair has seen many updates and upgrades to enhance its compatibility, with recent models offering a built-in iMac or tablet and desk. Since its unveiling, the Sonic Chair has collected a few notable accolades. It has been featured by BIM.archiproducts, nominated for an Designpresis award, and is the winner of a Red Dot Design award. The Sonic Chair’s claim to fame is in its creation of its own niche. Although integrating speakers into furniture is not unique to them, what is unique to them is the level of engineering that went into developing a chair that works like a headphone. Besides this, Sonic Chair is constantly aware of the rising demand for multi- media applications, and therefore have developed Sonic Chair to satisfy this need. Amid the pandemic, this demand has only risen. With so many people now working from home, there is a larger market than ever before for excellent and innovative online meeting and correspondence hardware, something that this product can provide with ease and efficiency. Sonic Chair’s integration of video screens and its development to negate noise pollution has secured Sonic Chair’s place in that market. Region wise, Germany has provided a cornucopia of opportunity for Sonic Chair. From their home base in Cologne, they are regular attendees of the trade fairs there and in the surrounding areas such as Düsseldorf and Frankfurt. In tandem with their multiple trade show appearances where the demonstrations of the Sonic Chair turn the fair’s attendees into future customers, Sonic Chair works alongside EU market leaders to further develop and enhance their services. Germany also responded to the challenges presented to small businesses by the pandemic by focusing on giving out grants to those affected. During the onset of the outbreak, Germany was one of the first nations to set up an aid programme to help their entrepreneurs through the difficulties of adapting to the crisis. This has forged an interesting and dynamic crucible for its entrepreneurs during the pandemic. Sonic Chair itself is a small business made up of 15 specialists that works closely with their production line during every step of the process. A tight knit team with members that have been on board for many years, they have a heavy focus on their internal team building and partake in activities such as ‘a daily lunch together, with cooking in turns’. Although Jan Stühn of Sonic Chair pointed out that they cannot predict exactly what the future might hold within a world that is mid-transformation, Sonic Chair’s innovations and ideas have no plans to stop pushing forward. It intends to continue working hard on its product’s technological prowess, keeping its finger on the pulse of new audio and visual developments. Company: SONIC CHAIR Contact: Jan Stühn Website: www.sonic-chair.com