EVOLUTION family of phono preamplifiers
The collaboration with Fezz is an example of a comprehensive approach to the project. To understand the needs of the target group, we held a series of interviews with current users of tube amplifiers and audio equipment distributors. We analyzed competing products and conducted User Experience research with the client and audio industry experts. We then developed a design strategy. We conducted a rebranding of the brand and the design of a new website and a new product catalog.
As part of the design project for the Evolution family of audio equipment, we designed a total of 10 devices, including tube amplifiers, phono preamplifiers, headphone amplifiers and power amplifiers. New packaging was also created for all the amplifiers. Below we have described the design process we followed in the creation of these products.
year: 2022
manufacturer: Fezz Audio
design: KABO & PYDO design studio
design team: Tomasz Pydo, Katarzyna Borkowska, Jacek Nosiła, Jan Wilczak
technical design cooperation: Andrzej Starzyk and the Fezz design team
cooperation in the design of markings on amplifiers: Dominika Wysogląd
The challenge was to create a stylistic DNA for the products that would allow them to stand out from the competition while maintaining production costs.
We liked the raw character of the amplifiers from before the facelift, so we decided to refer to it in the new enclosures. We left the material from which the devices were made – that is, thick two-millimeter sheet metal. Thanks to it, the amplifiers give the impression of being extremely solid. The Fezz Audio brand is a company that listens to the needs of its customers. It inevitably sticks to its values and commitment to tradition, but it is also a company that seeks and constantly develops. We decided that the best reflection of this approach would be to construct a steel chassis reminiscent of the first amplifiers, but in a very minimalist way. We left only the necessary elements of the chassis and hid most of the previously visible screws, making the devices economical in their expression. We placed a new logo, designed by our studio team, in the center between the knobs, and placed the model name, which was previously positioned in the corner, in the center of the front.
Tube amplifiers are devices that are often placed in the center of a room and can be looked at from either side. The curves we designed on the corners of the chassis and the protective basket make the lump of the device perceived in a more spacious way.
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To make it easier for the manufacturer to introduce such a wide range of products in different variants, we standardized selected elements.
The dimensions of the preamplifiers are limited to two front widths. GAJA and GAJA MINI amplifiers have narrower front cabinets, differing only in depth. The GRATIA preamplifier, on the other hand, has a larger enclosure due to the size of its components.
Only the outer casing is available in several colors. However, the top, rear and bottom plates to which all components are attached are always black. Such a solution makes production very easy, as the manufacturer can make a large quantity of the base part of the device later adding a side casing in different color variants, depending on orders.
The design of this system has meant that the manufacturer does not have to produce and stock all the components in every possible configuration.
