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May 30, 2024

Frame Your Rhythm

Samsung Electronics Audio Music Frame of Design Story: A Journey of making Music Frame

Samsung Music Frame Design Story
A rectangular Music Frame product is centered. The image within the Music Frame is a vertical stripe of two straight lines, each a different tone of red. The background has a rhythmic movement of an equalizer pattern with tight straight stripes interspersed with a circular graphic that gradually grows larger in the center, giving the impression of spreading music.

Intro: Meet the design group within Samsung Electronics' Visual Display Division that created Audio Music Frame

“Bringing innovative design projects to mass production is a multi-step process involving iterative exploration. The Music Frame project, which began in the summer of 2021, is an example of that, as a product reflecting the culmination of positive energy of many designers and passionate collaboration with our Development and CX teams.” Samsung Electronics Visual Display Business, Head of Design Team Chulyong Cho

Designers of Experiences for Tomorrow

Samsung Electronics is home to a variety of departments seeking out fresh opportunities. Among them, the Future Experience Design group, true to its name, actively searches for future experiences that don’t exist in the market yet and develops concepts for users’ lives, later turning them into innovative products. But there’s lots to overcome before a product launches. After proposing the initial concept, there’s a long journey involving designing for mass production and collaborating with many departments to enhance the marketability and technical perfection of the product. Brought to market through unceasing passion and innovation, this is the design story of Music Frame.

Content images simulated for illustrative purposes only and may differ from the actual product. Product specification may vary by country, region and model.
The sound graphic representing the Music Frame moves the image up and down like an equalizer in audio.

Section 1: How Samsung Electronics Audio Music Frame came to be

It is split into two images. Left. Images of Samsung Electronics' representative lifestyle TVs, Serif TV and Frame TV. Right. An image of a red-colored equalizer background with a Music Frame behind it.

Bringing Style
to Spaces
Inspired by Your Lifestyle

Buying products these days is more than just functionality, it’s an act of personal lifestyle expression. Samsung Electronics has introduced a series of lifestyle TVs that blend seamlessly into users’ spaces as beautiful ornamental pieces, including The Serif, The Frame, and The Sero TVs. Considering that a lot of time is spent away from the TV, these products display Ambient/Art Mode instead of a black screen when not in use to enhance interior design sensibility, with the approach of creating products that anyone would love to add to their space.

Music Frame, delivering audio in the form of a frame, was an extension of this approach. In a world where speakers emphasize sound, the goal of lifestyle audio, Music Frame, is to put your lifestyle and space first. Picture frames are a familiar furnishing that can be placed anywhere, and reflect your taste and personality depending on what kind of art or photos you put inside. Music Frame inherits the experience and form of a frame, so you can appreciate the pictures you love as you listen to music.

Daytime, bright sunlight illuminates a room that appears to be an artist's studio. A Music Frame hangs harmoniously on one wall alongside a variety of framed paintings.
Daytime, bright sunlight illuminates a room that appears to be an artist's studio. A Music Frame hangs harmoniously on one wall alongside a variety of framed paintings.

One Spark to a Spectacular Product

Collaborating with the Development and CX team, we built and validated a walking prototype that demonstrated the sound, and conducted in-depth user testing to explore how users liked and reacted to the product. In the process, we received positive responses from users, solidifying our confidence in the product’s acoustic performance and the overall concept. As a result, the initial plan remained intact and led to mass production.

Section 2: Samsung Electronics Audio Music Frame which doubles as a picture frame and subwoofer Production Process

It is split into two images. Left. An image of a tight blue straight stripe intersected with a circular graphic that gradually grows in the center, creating the illusion of music spreading out. Right. Evening time, a room with small mood lighting, a music frame on a side table.

Bridging the Gap Between Decor and Audio
An image with sketch lines showing the gap between the edge of the music frame and the image where the sound is coming from.
An image with sketch lines showing the gap between the edge of the music frame and the image where the sound is coming from.

Sculpting Unseen Sound

Music Frame is all about audio, so we couldn’t lose sight of the essence of listening to music. With it being a different form factor than traditional, elongated soundbars, we had to design it from scratch. We needed a specialized understanding of sound, so from the start of the project we brought in the Sound Development team leading sound research to perfect the acoustics of the product. Speakers commonly have fabric, grilles, or other materials on the front to let sound emit easily. Together with the Sound Development team, we found a method for Music Frame to emit sound through a gap between the frame and panel, creating a unique design untypical of audio products, more like a picture frame that’s not limited by material on the front.

Due to the shape of the frame, the gap between the front frame and the panel radiating highs and mids was crucial. After countless tests to find the optimal gap in terms of both design and sound quality, we landed on 9mm. We also worked with the Development team to make sure the vibrations from the rear woofer speaker, responsible for the bass, wouldn't cause noise when the product is hung on the wall like a picture frame.

A Piece to Personalize Your Place

Just like a real frame, Music Frame is detachable and you can swap out the image in the frame with photos of cherished memories or your favorite art. Placing a photo of a precious memory or a piece of art you like inside the frame and listening to the music you associate with it is enough to deepen your experience.

We also considered that users might place Music Frame on a table using the stand instead of hanging it on the wall. Meticulous refinements were made to the stand’s shape and the tilting angle to avoid it looking too prominent or causing panel reflections. Since the back of the product is naturally more visible when it’s on a table, we designed the details on the back to be clean and iconic.

Describe the angle at which the Music Frame is slightly tilted backward to the side. Describe the angle at which the Music Frame is slightly tilted backward to the side.
An image showing the woofer at the bottom of the back of the Music Frame. An image showing the woofer at the bottom of the back of the Music Frame.
There is an image background behind the Music Frame product that looks like it is emitting sound 360 degrees. It is a diagonally framed spiral (spring) graphic.
There is an image background behind the Music Frame product that looks like it is emitting sound 360 degrees. It is a diagonally framed spiral (spring) graphic.
An image side view of the Music Frame with the stand on the back of the product barely visible.

Section 3: Samsung's Audio Music Frame delivers a personalized experience with a custom picture frame and subwoofer

It is split into two images. Left. A music frame hanging with a picture frame. Right. A tight stripe of green color intersected with a horizontal spiral graphic gives it a free-spirited feel.

Music Frame
in Your Everyday
밀란 디자인 위크 2024 갤러리 1
An image with shapes of different tones placed in a blue space.
A mosaic of unspecified shapes made of light blue, chartreuse, orange, and yellow paper.
A mix of music-framed text and slanted spiral graphics.
A white square building against a clear, cloudless sky.
A black and white background image with superimposed mountain ridges.

There is a music frame in the center, flanked by various images on either side. The images inside the center music frame are rotating in order from right to left.

Your Life, In the Frame

If there’s a particular image you want to cherish, you can create your own art panel by uploading your image and placing an order through a 3rd party site. Panels are crafted using the Diasec process, often used for premium art frames, to bring a luxurious touch to your space.

If there’s a particular image you want to cherish, you can create your own art panel by uploading your image and placing an order through a 3rd party site. Panels are crafted using the Diasec process, often used for premium art frames, to bring a luxurious touch to your space.

Music Frame comes in a default black frame, but you can purchase an additional white frame to match your decor to your taste. Fill your frame with stunning images to create a stylish space that’s always in the mood for music.

Art panels sold separately, and customization availability may vary by region. White frame sold separately, available starting summer 2024.
A circular graphic with sound coming out of a frame TV, spreading from small to large shapes.

Rhythm to Fill Your Room

If you want even better sound while watching TV, the Q-Symphony feature lets you place two Music Frames on either side of your TV for richer stereo sound. For surround sound, place your soundbar in front of your TV, and place Music Frame on the wall opposite the TV to act as a rear speaker. Using the SmartThings app, you can set the equalizing settings as you prefer. Through fine-tuning the sound to your preference, you can enjoy a richer music experience and more deeply immersive content.

Q- Symphony using the Music Frame is available only when connected with a 2024 Samsung TV (DU7000↑& LS03D) and 2024 Samsung Soundbar (Q700D↑, Ultra Slim, S-Series).
A circular graphic with sound coming out of a frame TV, spreading from small to large shapes.

Conclusion: A group of Samsung designers proposes new forms of experiences in response to changing lifestyles

In a music frame, there is a circular graphic with louder sound that spreads out to either side, like a surround.

The images of music frames in the space, and graphic representations of sounds are harmoniously mixed and arranged like a checkerboard.

For designs that naturally fit with users’ spaces, Samsung designers will continue to discover and propose new kinds of products and innovative experiences. Look forward to a future full of possibilities created by Samsung Electronics, through products tailored to fit users’ lifestyles.

samsung.com
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