Consumer electronics have the power to change lifestyles.

ー Tonny, Eden, why did you become consumer electronic designers? Were your parents really picky about consumer electronics or something like that?

Tonny　Actually, my parents were indifferent. (Laughs.) I think I probably first became interested when the iPhone was released. That was a shock. I wanted to do new designs like that and learned at a school specializing in product design.

Eden　I was not influenced by a particular product, but I was interested in consumer electronic design from a long time ago. I’m sure this is because they’re close to our daily lives. I also majored in design in university.

ー The AQUOS that the two of you designed recently is really new. The stand is really unique.

Tonny　This time the concept was a “stream design” in the image of flowing water. I think we can say that the stand symbolizes this.

Eden　We really had a hard time with this. Achieving both a “flowing delicate design” and “strength” is difficult. We redid it so many times and took the data to the factory where we were flatly told, “it’s impossible.” This was a difficult time. In the end, we arrived at this form for the cross-section of the stand.

ーOh, it’s not round!

Eden　That’s right. By giving it this form, we were able to achieve both a delicate design and strength. Furthermore, the entire stand appears thin and light. This makes it more stylish for interior design.

Tonny　Giving it just the right luster was also very difficult. As a result of trying various things, the solution was to have craftsman polish them individually by hand.

ーI see. What other things did you focus on besides the stand?

Tonny　New features are “voice control and “gesture control” on the remote control. The TV can be operated by speaking and by waving the remote control. This is the first time that a remote control with both voice and gesture control has been realized in China.

Eden　The screen thicknesses 9.4 mm, and its resolution is 4K. People can also enjoy the Internet with this TV. In addition to email and web browsing, it also supports Internet shopping and the streaming of TV dramas, for example.

Tonny　All kinds of things are connected by the Internet. I think that this AQUOS, along with more and more TVs in the future, will probably be a starting point for the Internet of Things (IoT) and become a “smart controller” for daily life.

ーTo create something so significant, the “pains of birth” must be considerable.

Tonny　We did a lot of overtime. (Laughs.) We also went to the factory many times. But, working with the craftsmen was really interesting.

ーWhen you think it is hopeless or you are sick of it, what do you do?

Tonny　I run! I run and I listen to music. When I can take a longer break, I guess I travel.

Eden　You showed me some photographs. The time you went to Japan. These.

Tonny 　(holding his head): Hey, that’s embarrassing!

ーWow, you’re like a pro! Tonny, you are also good at taking photographs. Just like a designer.。

Tonny　Thank you very much. Japan is the best of all the countries I have been to so far. I thought I wanted to do consumer electronics and got a job at Sharp, but it was after I went to Japan that I came to like it. Japan is beautiful. I got a variety of inspirations.

Eden　I also do running, swimming and bicycling. I also assemble bicycles myself.

ーEven in your free time, you are both designers. Do you have any aspirations for a kind of thing that you would like to do in the future?

Tonny　For example, with this AQUOS, we undertook one new challenge. We made a special site to convey directly to customers the ideas that we the designers put into the product.

Eden　We also made things like a 360° rotating movie of the TV so that even the thinness and design details could be understood. People who buy the product can also write reviews, for example.

Tonny　In addition to product design, I want to keep doing this kind of thing where we step into the communication design field like this. And if I’m to say something larger, I want to change people’s lifestyles. Consumer electronics have that much power. Like the iPhone changed the world.

Eden　My dream is that someday a product that I design will have an impact on the world and be accepted globally. Don’t all designers have such thoughts even if their work fields and styles are different? I feel that at Sharp I have fertile ground to realize this aspiration.

Note: The department that the author belongs to and the content of the article are correct at the time of writing.