It's about time we experienced music with more than just our ears. With Van der Waals, you get a true audio-visual experience — adding a new dimension to the way music feels. Launched on Kickstarter in 2021, the project raised over $400K in sales.

Research, Early Prototyping and 3D Development

The Van der Waals speaker began as a concept built around ferrofluid as the central visual element. As the industrial designer on the project, I shaped the early product direction — from initial research and sketches to the creation of functional prototypes. After he built the first magnetic experiments, I conducted user research to understand the preferred size, loudness, visual character and expectations of the target audience. These insights guided several design directions that balanced a clean aesthetic with realistic manufacturing constraints. I also used Grasshopper to create an optimal perforation pattern for the speaker grilles, combining acoustic openness with a minimal graphic language. We refined the selected concepts, developed detailed 3D models and jointly built the first working prototype, including a custom-molded ferrofluid chamber requiring exceptional optical clarity.

Visualization and Kickstarter Preparation

Once the prototype was ready, I continued leading the industrial design effort while supporting the team in preparing for the Kickstarter launch. Together with the engineer, I fine-tuned the prototype to ensure stable on-camera performance during the video shoot. I created a full set of product visualizations, studio renders and graphic assets for the campaign, shaping the overall visual identity of the launch. The ferrofluid display became the central storytelling element, showing how the speaker reacts to sound through precisely controlled magnetic motion. The Kickstarter campaign gained strong traction and delivered valuable feedback for the transition from prototype to production.

CMF, Refinement and Production

After the campaign, I prepared the detailed CMF documentation defining materials, finishes and colors based on factory samples - the final stage of locking the industrial design. I worked with product managers to finalize specifications and refine details based on engineering constraints and user feedback. The most demanding part of production was the glass chamber, which had to be manufactured with exceptional clarity for the ferrofluid visualizer. Once we secured a supplier capable of meeting these requirements, we moved into sample production and quality checks. Each iteration brought the speaker closer to its final minimal and premium form, with a custom LED lighting system that creates a smooth backlit glow and frames the ferrofluid as the product's defining feature.