SILENT Brass™ Wins Design for Asia Awards 2014 ― Grand Award
Yamaha Corporation's SILENT Brass™ won a Design for Asia Awards 2014 ― Grand Award hosted by the Hong Kong Design Centre on 21th November.
Previously, a total of three Yamaha products had received a Gold award and other commendations at the Design for Asia Awards, but this was the first time for Yamaha to pick up a Grand Award.
Moreover, following on from the 2013 Good Design Awards: Gold Award, the 2014 iF Product Design Award, and the Red Dot Design Award: Product Design 2014, this latest award is the fourth Yamaha has received for SILENT Brass™.
The award ceremony at Hong-Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 3rd December
Summary of the Award-Winning Products
A muting system for brass instruments that comprises Pickup Mute™ (muffler) and Personal Studio™ (headphone amplifier): The system reduces the volume of instruments to that of a whisper so that the user can play at any time, in any place. In addition to its high muting capabilities, the system contains unique signal processing technology that provides an even more pleasing ambient sound. For Pickup Mute™, superfluous shaping elements were stripped away to create a simple and functional design. In addition to its unique shape that makes it easy to attach and remove from instruments, it is also compact enough that the instrument can be placed in its case with Pickup Mute™ still attached*1.
*1 Not possible for some combinations of instruments and cases, such as for flugelhorns or detachable-type horns.
Comment from the Judge
"It offers the potential for musicians to practice as they can listen to themselves play in silence." Tetsuyuki Hirano, Design for Asia Awards 2014 Judge
Playing the trumpet in an apartment building in the middle of a large city in Asia might not always be popular with one's neighbors. In Asian cities where domestic life is often confined to very compact apartments with little space and privacy. One of the many benefits offered by the SILENT Brass™ series is the assurance of harmonious community relations ― musicians can play wherever and whenever they like, without disturbing the rest of the family or the entire neighborhood.
Design for Asia Awards
Design for Asia Awards is the flagship program of the Hong Kong Design Centre to celebrate design excellence and acknowledge outstanding designs with Asian perspectives. Since its launch in 2003, the Design for Asia Awards has entered into its 12th year on a high note, and has become an annual design event attracting thousands of design talents and corporations to participate, with its continued success to have strengthened Hong Kong's role as an international design hub in the region. The total number of entries this year hit a record high of over 1,000 from 23 countries and regions in Asia and beyond.
Official website: www.dfaaward.com