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Global Head of Editorial

When we set out to collaborate with IKEA on the SYMFONISK Picture frame speaker, a flat speaker that’s also a piece of art, they were firm: it couldn’t be any thicker than 60 millimeters (about 2.36 inches). Find out how we created a panel speaker with sound that’s anything but flat.

At Sonos, we thoughtfully design each one of our speakers to look like a work of art. With the most recent addition to the SYMFONISK product range as part of our 

, we took our design philosophy to a new, more literal level. Of course, that’s the thrill in our collaboration with IKEA—finding innovative ways to create incredible-sounding speakers under the guise of traditional home furnishings.

After the success of the debut of SYMFONISK in 2019, which launched with table lamp and bookshelf speakers, we were enthusiastic to find even more unexpected ways of bringing sound into the home. We started by reviewing customer research, which told us that there are certain spaces in a home where some people feel that a traditional speaker just doesn’t “fit.” A variety of reasons were given for this, from not having enough counter space or wall outlets to technology not being a part of a particular space’s intended design aesthetic. With this in mind, the acoustic engineers at Sonos and the product designers at IKEA set out to answer a question: how do we hide a speaker in plain sight? During the joint ideation, the concept of a speaker that could be hung on the wall like a picture surfaced. And with that came a number of challenges, including, how to design a speaker with a thin enough profile to be hung on a wall. IKEA ran the numbers and came up with the maximum depth for such a product: 60 millimeters.

“The challenge with creating such a thin speaker is that it requires space to make sound,” said Sara Morris, Principal Product Manager at Sonos. “Because ultimately, a speaker creates sound by moving air. And the less space you have to move air, the more expensive it gets. So, we had to get creative.” Rather than daunting the engineers at Sonos, the space constraints only served to invigorate them.

At the beginning of development, the team had to acknowledge a seemingly obvious fact: people would place the picture frame speaker where they wanted a piece of art in their home, which is not necessarily where they would normally place a speaker. Chris Davies, Senior Director, Audio Engineering at Sonos explains, “With a conventional speaker, it's not too hard to envision where somebody will set it up. But when you've got something that's hanging on the wall, it's not the same decision process. It's like, there is a spot on the wall and I'm going to hang it there. And what you get out of it will be what you get out of it. So our need was to think about how we could make this product as flexible and functional as possible.”

Davies elaborates: “If you have a speaker on the wall in a dining room, someone who is sitting right in front of it is going to have a very different experience than someone who is sitting much farther away. So our challenge was to create a speaker with coverage that was as wide and consistent as possible for everyone in a given room. That way, the person who is sitting right in front of it isn’t hearing excess high frequency content and the person who is sitting on the other side of the room isn’t hearing something that sounds dull.”

To address this, one of the biggest things the team tackled was the “hot” high frequency sounds made by a tweeter. Morris steps in with a vivid, all-too-relatable explanation, “The way sound works is that low frequencies are omnidirectional and high frequencies are extremely directional. The way to think about this is when your neighbors are having a party. From your home, you can probably hear the bassline easily. But you probably can’t make out what specific song they’re playing because you can’t hear the singing or any of the other high frequency elements of the song. If you’re at the party though and close to the speaker, you know exactly where the sound is coming from because the high frequency sounds are coming directly at you.”

So, to ensure that the picture frame speaker would not be uncomfortable for someone sitting right in front of it, the team did two things to the tweeter. First they created a unique geometric shape around it, then they placed a star-shaped "lens" directly over it. Both of these things serve to help diffuse the high-frequency sounds throughout the room, creating a more consistent experience for everyone listening—regardless of how close or far they are from the actual speaker. Morris comes through with another vivid analogy to explain: “It’s like putting your thumb over water coming out of a garden hose. It’s going to force the water to spread out—or in this case, the high frequency sound—which will more evenly distribute it throughout the space. That way, everyone in the room gets a nice mist rather than just one person getting soaking wet.”

Unexpected Advantages and Big, Flat Complications

While the limited depth of the picture frame created constraints elsewhere, the overall volume of the speaker actually allowed for quite a bit of bass. But what seems like an advantage also came with its own set of challenges. As with all Sonos speakers, having well-balanced, natural sound was crucial for this product. Therefore, the team was careful to use a woofer that would provide the perfect amount of bass, something that wouldn’t overpower the mid- and high-range frequencies.

The large overall area of the speaker created another complication. “The flip side is that because you've got something that is big and flat, big and flat things tend to bend,” said Davies. “So we did a lot of work with the construction on the inside of the speaker, adding in ribbing and a bunch of mounting points so that you get something that holds together really well and doesn't deform or buckle as it’s making sound.”

While it was important for the picture frame’s physical structure to not be too flexible, Sonos and IKEA wanted the ways that people could place and enjoy the speaker to be as flexible as possible.

With exchangeable cover art and multiple ways to place it (horizontally, vertically, on the wall, on a piece of furniture, or even on the floor), the SYMFONISK Picture frame speaker was designed to give a plethora of options for any home. Each orientation is supported with subtle but useful touches, like a custom power cord guide and adjustable feet.

You can also easily integrate it into your existing Sonos system. Group it with other speakers throughout your home, pair two together for stereo sound, or use two as rears for a home theater setup when you don’t have a ton of space behind the couch. Combine this with (dozens of streaming services, Apple AirPlay 2, direct control from your favorite apps, and Trueplay tuning for unique room configurations, and you have one of our most versatile speakers yet.

Complementing the extensive thought and effort that went into ensuring incredible sound from a flat panel speaker, is the care and expertise IKEA brought to the aesthetics and overall look of the SYMFONISK Picture frame speaker. To learn more about how IKEA and Sonos created something beautiful enough to hang on your wall, read more on IKEA Today 

If These Walls Could Play Music

Guest Writer

 make it easy to listen to your favorite music, audiobooks, or podcasts, no matter where the day takes you. And of course, they each offer their own unique features for an easy listening experience. So, which speaker should you choose and when? Read on to find out.

Here’s the scenario: You’re getting ready for the weekend and want to set the mood with a solid playlist and maybe a few podcasts. You just got 

, so you’re excited to put it to the test. That said, you are still getting up to speed on the differences between the newest portable speaker and your other on-the-go speaker, 

. As you progress through your day, you’ll need to make choices about which one serves up better sound in different scenarios — mornings in your bedroom, afternoons at the park, evening dinners outside. Good thing we’re here to help. We’re going to guide you through both the big and subtle differences in the two speakers so you can grab the best one for your next listening adventure. Ready? Let’s get started.

The weekend is finally here. Birds are singing their morning music, and the initial glimmers of sunrise stream through your windows, blanketing your bedroom in a soft light. You decide to kickstart your Saturday morning with a feel-good playlist that matches your energy. But wait — your partner is still asleep. No problem. With a single press of a button, you send your tunes to the kitchen, where you’ll brew your coffee and get started on breakfast for the two of you. Which speaker do you choose to have by your bed in this scenario? Roam or Move 2?

Great call! With Roam, you can send sound to another speaker using Sound Swap by simply pressing and holding the play button. The sound will begin playing on the nearest speaker and stop playing on Roam. Roam is also designed to be placed vertically or horizontally, so you can choose what makes the most sense for your space.

You’re finally caffeinated and ready to tackle the day. To take advantage of the morning sun, you decide to go for a short walk in the park. You remember that there’s a small clearing along your route and decide you’d like to spend a little time there stretching and catching up on the latest episode of your favorite podcast. Which speaker do you bring with you on the walk?

Nice choice! Roam weighs .95 pounds (.43 kg), compared to Move’s 6.61 pounds (3 kg). And at 6.61 inches long, you can easily carry it in a day pack, stuff it in a roomy pocket, or hold it in your hand.

Image of a woman doing yoga while listening to music from an Olive Sonos Roam

Image of a white Sonos Move 2 on a red table in a backyard

Refreshed from your hike, you decide you want the rest of your day’s fun to revolve around being outside. So, it’s decided: You’ll invite a few family friends over for dinner on the patio and some backyard stargazing. But first, you need to clean your outdoor space. The patio furniture is covered in dust. Leaves are strewn everywhere like old confetti. And the plants are in desperate need of some extra water. It’s decided: The family will head out to give the backyard some much-needed TLC ahead of tonight’s dinner. You want to play tunes to pump everyone up for the job ahead. But the area is big, and you want a speaker that will be heard throughout the entire yard. Which one do you bring?

Exactly! Move 2’s size and spacious stereo sound allow for a wider soundstage and more powerful bass than Roam. And because it’s rated IP56, it can stand up to an occasional splash from the garden hose. Speaking of sound, both Move 2 and Roam have Automatic Trueplay tuning, meaning that they automatically adapt to your surroundings for sound that's astonishingly detailed and perfectly balanced.

After you finish sprucing up the backyard, you prepare to drop off the kids at your parents’ house — this way, you can grocery shop for tonight’s dinner while your kids enjoy time at your parents’ pool. It’s a win-win. Prior to heading over, you grab the pool toys and a few snacks, then reach for a speaker so the kids can stream music. But as you do, you wonder which device is best suited for a pool day. One major input is durability. After all, between the kids and your parents’ dogs, you can pretty much guess that whatever speaker you bring will end up in the water (it’s just physics). So, which one do you grab?

Wow, you’re good at this. While the Move 2 can handle occasional splashes, Roam is rated IP67, meaning that it can be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes. That’s more than enough time for you to peel off your cover-up and dive into the water after your submerged sound system.

Image of a man loading up his truck with camping gear and a white Sonos Move 2

It’s the afternoon now, and you’re arriving home from your parents’ house. You have groceries for tonight and two happy, sun-soaked kids. When you pull up to your garage, you spot your neighbor waving at you from across the lawn. Turns out they’re going car camping next weekend and are wondering if they can borrow one of your Sonos speakers. They won’t be able to charge the speaker once they’ve set up camp. Which speaker do you lend them?

Yes! While Roam boasts up to 10 hours of battery life, Move 2 offers more than double the listening—up to 24 hours. That means your neighbors can enjoy an entire day’s worth of audio — which will come in handy if their kids need some white noise to help them sleep in the wilderness. What a good neighbor you are.

As the kids jump in the shower to rinse off the chlorine from the pool, you head to the garage to work on your latest project — a beautiful wooden bench hand-made to complement your outdoor furniture set. All it needs is one last coat of stain, and you have just enough time to finish before prepping dinner. You want to listen to Rosalía’s latest record as you work, but the WiFi tends to be spotty in the garage. Which speaker allows you to listen over Bluetooth instead?

Right again. Move 2 and Roam both offer streaming over Bluetooth and WiFi. And when it’s time to head to the kitchen to ready the evening’s meal, you can sync your Bluetooth stream to other speakers in your Sonos system to spread the infectious latin beats throughout your home. So really, you can’t go wrong with either speaker.

Image of a group of friends having dinner outside listening to music from a white Sonos Move 2

A closeup image of an Olive Sonos Roam being held up in front of a waterfall

All that working worked up an appetite. Thankfully, it’s time for dinner on your newly clean patio. The grill is fired up, and the table is covered with a couple side dishes, refreshing drinks, plates, and cutlery. There is very little room for a speaker on the table. Which speaker should your reach for?

 was specifically designed to fit Move 2’s ergonomic handle, allowing it to be securely hung up indoors and out. Create the perfect mood for an alfresco meal without taking up any table space.

The sun has set. The dishes are washed. And the night sky is filled with stars. You drag a cozy blanket out to the backyard, pile on a few pillows, and ready yourself for some stargazing. It’s time for music, but not just anything will do. This is one of those moments when music isn’t just background noise — it’s integral to creating an experience. You want to play an album that conjures up favorite memories or creates a mood perfect for constellation-finding. And because you want crisp, full audio for this immersive experience, you decide to pair a couple speakers. Which ones do you choose to stereo-pair next to you?

Nailed it. Both Roam and Move 2 are great options for this scenario. They can be stereo-paired on WiFi for richer sound and placed wherever is most convenient for your makeshift listening setup.

 offer incredible sound, portability, WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities, long-lasting battery life, and the ability to seamlessly integrate into your home system. But they each have their own unique attributes that make them especially suited for certain listening scenarios. Whether you choose to enjoy it with Roam, Move 2 (or both!), we hope you enjoy your next day off.

Image of an Olive Move 2 and an Olive Roam side by side on a kitchen countertop next to some potted plants

When to Roam, When to Move

When it came to creating a voice control experience unique to Sonos, the team behind Sonos Voice Control™ took a listener-first approach that prioritized privacy, sound quality, and inclusivity along with hands-free ease.

“Voice control makes technology very accessible,” says Joseph Dureau, Vice President of Voice Experience at Sonos. Dureau leads the team behind Sonos Voice Control, a new innovation that offers listeners hands-free control of their music and systems with any voice-enabled 

 product. His interest in the technology, however, extends beyond his professional life.

As a father to two young children, Dureau is always trying to limit screen time for himself and his family. “Being able to control music with my voice helps me stay present,” he explains. “I don’t need to pull out my smartphone to change the song or adjust the volume, and my children don’t see me constantly looking at a device.”

Drawn to the convenience of voice control, Dureau and his team wanted to find a way to improve upon the technology in a way that only Sonos could, making it even more intuitive, private, and inclusive. Oh, and it had to sound good, too.

A white Sonos Roam with examples of voice commands in animated speech bubbles

“Everything we do aims to empower listeners,” says Dureau. “When we think about a new feature, product, or partnership, it has to be rooted in our ethos. And it has to be easy.” With the addition of Sonos Voice Control, the team has realized this ambition on a new level with a one-of-a-kind experience.

Sonos Voice Control stands apart from other voice assistants that have become synonymous with smart speakers.

First, the setup is nearly effortless: There are no extra apps to download or new accounts to create. Sonos Voice Control offers complete command of your Sonos system with any voice-enabled product, regardless of generation.

Unlike other voice assistants, Sonos Voice Control has a better grasp of natural language, so it understands the way people actually talk. For example, it understands “Hey Sonos, up a bit” as well as “Hey Sonos, louder.” Whatever comes more naturally. You can also quickly follow up one request with another without having to repeat “Hey Sonos” (also known as the wake word) every single time. “It seems like a small detail,” says Dureau, “But it creates a lot of friction.”

Also, Sonos Voice Control processes all requests locally on the speaker or soundbar, which significantly reduces the time to music. It’s as instant as tapping a control in the app. Most of the time, Sonos Voice Control just does what’s asked without a repetitive verbal confirmation.

Local processing also allows for limited playback controls on Bluetooth®, including pausing, resuming, and volume adjustments. Plus, because no data or audio transcript is ever sent to the cloud, Sonos Voice Control doesn’t compromise on privacy.

With the increase of smart devices in our lives, privacy has become a top priority for customers. It’s also the number one reason why listeners never set up or use a voice assistant despite being drawn to the ease. So, naturally, privacy became a top priority for the Sonos Voice Experience team.

“We don’t use any customer data to feed our engines,” explains Dureau. All requests are processed locally on the Sonos product. “At no point is your voice going to be sent to the cloud, transcribed, or listened to by anyone.”

Rather than making shopping frictionless or leveraging data to enhance voice AI and search engines, Sonos Voice Control services the listening experience. “It’s like a voice version of the app,” says Dureau.

“At Sonos, we want to make everything sound as good as we possibly can,” says Greg McAllister, Senior Manager of Sound Experience. Throughout his storied career as a sound engineer, McAllister has worked on everything from Hollywood blockbusters to award-winning albums alongside Sonos Sound Experience Leader Giles Martin at London’s famed Abbey Road Studios. When it came to choosing a voice for Sonos Voice Control, he wanted it to sound as “natural as possible.”

Rather than use a sterile-sounding option generated by AI, McAllister and his team sought the perfect human voice, which they found in Giancarlo Esposito, the beloved big-screen and Emmy-nominated actor known for 

So, what makes a good-sounding voice? “It’s very dependent on context,” explains McAllister. “For instance, if you’re listening to someone reading a bedtime story, then you want the voice to be nice, soft, and relaxing. If you’re listening to somebody making an announcement, that should be a bit more direct.” Sonos Voice Control had to do it all.

“We want something that’s warm and positive, but also informative. Giancarlo’s voice perfectly fits the bill. He has a really nice deep resonance about his voice that feels very warm.”

“I’ve had a lot of experience playing characters, but I realized with Sonos that I would have to manipulate my voice in a way that was really me. It enticed me to be a part of this because people respond to the quality of my voice—they say it can be calm, it can be reassuring. It’s a voice that people recognize before they even recognize my face.” 

Giancarlo Esposito recording voice over in the studio

Giancarlo Esposito speaking with an audio engineer in the studio

Even more important than the human output of Sonos Voice Control is the human input that informed its final articulation.

Dureau and his team paid close attention to creating the best experience for 

 existing and future Sonos listeners. While surveying a diverse set of testers for an initial launch in US English, it became clear that they would not be designing for a monolith and found a few interesting opportunities for innovation.

“In the US, we noticed a large majority of song titles and artist names in Spanish,” explains Dureau. “We wanted to make sure that words would be pronounced correctly.” He laments how other assistants tend to mispronounce or alter non-English words and names entirely, sending the people on the other end hearing them that they were not considered in this technology. “We want everyone to feel included in the Sonos Voice Control experience,” he says.

A French native, Dureau also brings a special appreciation for regional accents. The US-based testers ranged from Southern California and New Jersey to Georgia and Minnesota, and the team plans to continue expanding the pool. “Every time we launch Sonos Voice Control in a new region,” Dureau continues, “we will do everything we can to make sure it works with the variety of accents you find there.”

Also included in the Sonos Voice Control experience? Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Sonos is all about choice, letting you stream from your favorite services, mix and match speakers to customize your system, and even use multiple voice assistants. So, listeners who want a little extra hands-free help managing their smart home devices, getting answers to questions, or ordering dinner can also use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant on their Sonos system. Alexa even works with Sonos Voice Control on the same speaker.

“We just want to be the best conduit of sound,” explains McAllister.

Sonos Voice Control is now available in the US. Learn more 

. For a deeper dive into the ins and outs of the technology behind the feature, visit our 

Closeup of a white Sonos Roam being used on kitchen countertop 

Voice Control, But Make It Sonos

With SYMFONISK WiFi speakers, Sonos and IKEA challenged themselves to find new ways of bringing sound into the home. Find out how the two brands worked together to design speakers that double as adaptable pieces of IKEA furniture.

At first thought, bringing the sound of a full orchestra into a dining room—without a speaker—doesn’t even seem like a challenge. It seems impossible.

Or so you might think. Meet SYMFONISK, a new collection of wireless speakers from Sonos and IKEA that double as a lamp or a multipurpose shelf—but with the premium sound you expect from Sonos. To create SYMFONISK WiFi speakers, the two companies worked together to introduce sound into the home in a more subtle way, integrating speakers into functional, beautiful pieces of furniture.

It may feel a little like magic. And in a way, it is. Except this magic wasn’t the kind from storybooks, but the kind that comes from teamwork, negotiation, prototyping, and repeated testing. And some knitting.

The first hurdle was figuring out how to best work together. Sonos brought to the table what it does best—creating great sound. IKEA, in turn, brought the expertise of home furnishing, as well as the spontaneity of trial-and-error design. Hilmar Lehnert, Audio Technology Manager at Sonos, describes both teams’ creation strategy as “an iterative process,” with new and unexpected directions arising the more they worked together and learned from each other. This process, Lehnert says, was made more complex by the number of collaborators involved. On one hand, there was IKEA, spearheading the products’ outward design, and on the other hand, there was Sonos, overseeing their sound and performance. Rounding out the team was the manufacturer responsible for bringing Sonos and IKEA designs into being.

“It was an intricate three-way dance. With three teams in the mix, we had to be aware of what each one was working on at any given time,” Lehnert says.

However familiar it was with creating great sound, Sonos still had a lot to learn about how to apply those methods to the less familiar field of home furnishing.

One example of this dance can be found in the brands’ working communication. Sonos discovered that it was difficult for the audio team to speak about sound with the industrial designers at IKEA, whose expertise applied to an entirely different field. In order to ensure the creation of the best product, Sonos’s industrial designers had to translate what their audio team needed in a way that made sense to their counterparts at IKEA.

“Lehnert had to explain how acoustics work. Then our industrial design team, which shares the same language and perspective as IKEA’s industrial design team, would say, ‘Here’s what that means for you’,” Sara Morris, Senior Product Manager at Sonos, says of the experience. She continues, “When Lehnert’s talking about bass response, this is how it affects the design. And when he’s talking about acoustic transparency, this is what it means for the material choices.”

However familiar it was with creating great sound, Sonos still had a lot to learn about how to apply those methods to the less familiar field of home furnishing. Lehnert describes his experience at a knitting manufacturer in Austria with both bemusement and awe.

“I’ve learnt more about knitting than I was ever planning to, but it was fascinating,” he says. “What types of threads you use, thread patterns, thread tensions, warp and weft. That all needs to be understood—what they can do and what they can’t do, what affects the sound.”

The team wound up going through hundreds of different fabrics, few of which would have been considered for a traditional speaker, to find the one that worked best as a cover for the speaker and design element of the table lamp with WiFi speaker.

When people think of making a house a home, they usually default to thoughts of the aesthetics. But sound can serve just as important of a role in defining the atmosphere of your home.

The result of this collaboration is a range of speakers that don’t read as speakers at all but as adaptable pieces of furniture for your home. On your nightstand, the table lamp can simultaneously provide light for bedtime reading and an ambient soundtrack for falling asleep. Likewise, there are seven different ways to incorporate the WiFi bookshelf speaker into your home—all of which will sound great due to Sonos’s Trueplay™ tuning technology. And, like all Sonos products, SYMFONISK WiFi speakers are designed to seamlessly integrate with the rest of your Sonos system.

When people think of making a house a home, they usually default to thoughts of the aesthetics. But sound can serve just as important of a role in defining the atmosphere of your home. With SYMFONISK WiFi speakers, you can enhance both, simultaneously.

“When people visit your home, they see your art. They relax on your furniture. And layered into this experience is the way your house sounds,” says Morris. “You can show them, audibly, ‘This is who I am.’”

Bright Ideas: How Sonos and IKEA Made Furniture with Brilliant Sound

The packaging for Sonos Roam sets new standards in environmental sustainability without compromising on a premium aesthetic. Find out how Sonos prioritized the planet—and the unboxing experience—at the same time.

We all know the old saying about never judging a book by its cover, but in today’s world that sentiment feels less and less relevant. Whether we realize it or not, packaging plays a vital role in all of our lives: shaping global commerce, influencing how we use our products, and prompting difficult questions about the legacy we’re leaving for future generations.

Sonos thoughtfully considers how it packages its products—from crafting a simple, joyous unboxing experience to ensuring that its packaging prioritizes ecological sustainability. The groundbreaking packaging system it developed and introduced with Roam, offers a fascinating glimpse into how all of these complex threads weave together.

Michelle Enright, Head of Packaging Experience, has led Sonos’s packaging team since 2012. Roam’s launch represents the culmination of years of tireless work to refine the design, materials, and manufacturing processes involved. For Michelle, creating beautiful and tactile packaging goes hand in hand with reducing Sonos’s environmental footprint. “We wanted the unboxing to feel like it’s your birthday,” she says. “But the beauty of Roam’s packaging is that we didn’t need to sacrifice other priorities to achieve that. By making a few strategic trade-offs, we were able to get what we’d always dreamed of.”

“We always design with sustainability in mind,” she explains. “When I joined Sonos, we had one product which was packaged in paper pulp rather than less sustainable materials. But that created a precedent. We’d done it once, and it worked, so we knew we could do more.”

“For Roam, we wanted to set the bar higher and have as much of the packaging made from paper as possible. Our development focused on uncoated paper as a material driver during conceptualization, progressing to sketches exploring surface treatments, then CGI mockups, and finally, working with our suppliers to bring it all to fruition.”

That conceptual phase included thinking not only about what Sonos’s packaging was made of, but also about what it said. “We looked at other packaging across the tech industry and saw a sea of samey black-and-white palettes,” Michelle explains. “We decided with Roam that we wanted a visual design system that moved away from that. Something we could distinctly own. But we always think about our packaging as part of a family,” she continues, “which means that Roam’s packaging also needed to live alongside our existing products.”

Michelle and her team aimed to create a design which would set Sonos apart, but also felt like a natural evolution from earlier branding, something which embodied the premium quality Sonos is known for and significantly reduced environmental impact. Part of what makes Roam’s packaging so special is the harmony the team found between those potentially conflicting goals.

“From the beginning, we wanted to find a paper that we didn’t have to laminate,” explains Michelle. “Most packaging that you’ll see in stores will have a plastic coating to prevent scuffs and fingerprints. It also makes those materials far less recyclable. We tested a number of off-the-shelf papers, but we ultimately created our own, working directly with a paper mill: we developed everything from the color and smoothness to the way the paper wraps around corners.”

That process included understanding how the physical qualities of this bespoke paper impacted other aspects of the design process. “One of the challenges with uncoated papers is that they all react differently to ink,” Michelle continues, “so the visual system we created had to cater to the specific qualities of this new paper.” She shows off a huge A1 sheet printed with varying designs, ink colors, font types, and logos, underlining the exhaustive process undertaken by her team to align Roam’s visual identity with the materials.

“Uncoated kraft paper isn’t generally considered premium, but we wanted to change that paradigm and create a tactile experience for our customers, so we used a foil stamp to create debossed and embossed areas around the box,” explains Michelle. “It’s things like that, combined with the feeling of the paper, the color, the finish, the treatments, and the graphics, which make the finished product feel premium. If one of those things hadn’t come together for us, it wouldn’t have worked.”

That sense of quality is a huge part of Michelle’s work. She explains how her team devotes hours to thinking about where a customer will first make contact with the box as they lift it from a shelf, or the order in which they’ll unpack the contents.

Nowhere is this attention to detail more evident than in the question of environmental impact. Michelle’s team were able to use 100% sustainably sourced paper for Roam’s box—even the hanging loop on the top is made from paper fibers—completely negating the need for plastic foam, a far less environmentally friendly substance. “Foam was never an option for us on Roam,” says Michelle. Even factoring in smaller elements inside the box for which plastic was the only viable option, like the product bag, the overall total for the packaging system is still 96.5% paper. A stunning achievement against an initial target of 85%.

In terms of what that means once Roam is shipping around the world, Michelle’s team have already crunched the numbers and estimate that by the end of 2021, their redesigned packaging, applied across the product portfolio, will have removed 62,000 kilograms of plastic from Sonos’s supply chain.

Deji Olukotun, Director of Policy and Corporate Social Responsibility, is hugely proud of what Michelle and her team have achieved, and sees the reduction of plastic packaging as a crucial part of Sonos’s wider commitment to social impact. “Packaging is an area where we’re seeing a lot of success. It’s great to be able to hold Roam up as an example and celebrate Michelle and her team."

When Michelle’s team finalizes a design, that isn’t the end of the process, but instead sparks a whole new set of possibilities. Deji explains that they will regularly go back and rethink old packaging designs: even something as simple as reducing the size of a box used to package an older product might enable us to fit more of them on a pallet or into a single shipping container, reducing their overall carbon footprint.

The impact of Roam’s packaging extends beyond Sonos too, from sharing recycling data with scientific researchers to applying for a Forest Stewardship Council licensing trademark, with the goal to display an FSC label on Sonos products by the end of 2021. “This is a really important signal that our packaging work isn't just greenwashing,” says Deji. “It's respected within the packaging business and by sustainability advocates, which helps set the bar even higher for the future.”

Ultimately, the future is what matters. The work undertaken by Michelle, Deji, and the team isn’t just about ensuring that products meet the needs of our customers today, but also preserving our collective tomorrow. When asked what motivates her, Michelle muses,“The greatest joy we have in our team is knowing that someone will open that box and love their product. But also as a mom I’m concerned about the future of the planet. In the end, it’s about making sure that we’re putting good things out into the world.”

Roam’s Packaging Represents a Premium Approach to Sustainability

All our products are designed to look timeless, blending into the unique style of your home. But while aesthetics may endure, technology is constantly moving forward. With this in mind, we wanted to introduce you to the new Sonos Sub and Sonos Five in the architecturally significant Elliot House. Designed by R.M. Schindler, protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Los Angeles home exemplifies how to bring modern advantages to a timeless classic.

After Rudolph Schindler arrived in Los Angeles in the early 1920s—at the request of Frank Lloyd Wright, who asked him to supervise the construction of the revered architect’s celebrated Hollyhock House—Schindler and his wife quickly found themselves at the epicenter of the city’s progressive, bohemian counter culture. Emboldened by the nonconformist atmosphere, Schindler bucked the popular Spanish Colonial Revival trend when he designed his own home. Often cited as the first modernist home in America, the Schindler House was created for four adults, including the builder of the home and his wife, as well as the Schindlers. The house reflects Schindler’s unique approach to architecture, with a mix of private and communal spaces and blurred boundaries between indoor and outdoor living spaces. Schindler’s willingness to prioritize the actual living experience within his creations is beautifully evident in the home he later designed for his insurance agent, the Elliot House.

Built in 1930, the house fell prey to short-sighted updates like a prefab kitchen and the removal of a built-in wooden desk and cabinetry before current owners Cameron Silver and Jeffrey Snyder bought the home in 2001. Silver and Snyder worked with Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner to restore the historic home, intent on preserving Schindler’s unique approach to space, lighting, and atmosphere. And, like Schindler did in his time, they took full advantage of the most current construction methods and material options, like new kitchen appliances and a contemporary color palette. It’s this approach—preserving the original artistry of a design while modernizing it for the world of today—that made the Elliot House the perfect setting to introduce the new 

The most powerful Sonos speaker for music, the new Sonos Five delivers vividly clear, room-filling sound. Internal updates include increased memory and processing power while the 3.5 mm line-in port allows you to connect your turntable, CD player, or other device directly to Five and play to your entire system. Five blends into the unique aesthetics of your home with an enduring design that has been updated in all black and—for the first time—all white.

Sonos Five: The high-fidelity speaker for superior sound

You can feel and hear the difference when you connect Sub to any Sonos system. While all Sonos speakers are designed for great bass, adding Sub allows those speakers to focus more on midranges, resulting in richer sound. And, like Five, the new Sonos Sub has increased memory and processing power ensuring the best possible performance while preparing Sub for future updates. Two force-canceling drivers at the center of Sub eliminate vibration and rattle so you get powerful bass without any distortion. Its award-winning and versatile design features a slim, sculptural shape and high-gloss finish. And, you can position it to be noticed or hide it away because Sub can be placed upright or laid on its side.

Sonos Sub: The wireless subwoofer for deep bass

As the sun sets each day, it casts golden light through a west-facing window and illuminates the richly-toned wood along the kitchen wall. This is Silver and Snyder’s favorite time of day. Even after owning the home for more than 20 years, they still appreciate the thoughtful details Rudolph Schindler weaved into the house (even if the milk box has long been removed). To learn more about the new Sonos Five, 

Sub and Five: Modern Interpretations. Original Artistry.

To celebrate our partnership with innovative furniture designer Floyd, we’re sharing a recent interview they did with artist and designer Hassan Rahim. Find out what drew him to design, how music inspires his work, and his advice for emerging artists and young designers.

Inside Hassan Rahim's Brooklyn apartment, you'll find a zen space filled with collections and unique pieces that keep him working, inspired, and relaxed. The artist and designer channels childhood interests in his work, which are distinctive and strong, contextual and reflective of his own nature. Rahim spoke with us about his self-made journey into design, inspirations, and work within the music industry.

My name is Hassan Rahim. I'm an artist, but I don't like to just stick with one title. I find I'm sometimes an artist and graphic designer or art director and designer. I grew up in Santa Ana, California, lived in L.A., and moved to Brooklyn, New York, six years ago. I like to focus my work on versatility. I'm drawn to projects based on concepts and ideas from a range of mediums—directing videos, designing logos, and my own personal work of printmaking and collage. I kind of freestyle it, and I've been doing that since I was 15 years old when I first downloaded Photoshop.

You are self-taught. So what was your journey into design, being self-taught?

My design journey started with skateboarding. I was a skateboarder, but I really was obsessed with graphics, skateboard art and ads, and magazines.  These are what caught my eye, and I wanted to make those things. I had a desire to make stickers and shirts and was curious about how to make them. I'd ask myself, "Oh, how did they do that?" and then try to recreate some things. From there, I figured out different techniques and developed tools to start using my own imagination.

You got your start in t-shirts. Tell us more about that.

I was posting some of my own t-shirt work on Myspace when I was 15. People came across my work and asked me to make shirts for their brand. Then, through skateboarding, I met people who worked for brands like Obey and Diamond Supply Co., and they asked me to make shirts for them as well.

You do a lot of collage in your work. What inspired you to get into that?

That was the way my brain put pieces together. I'm made up of all the little bits and pieces of inspiration from everyone else, you know? All the little snippets, memorable quotes, and things people told me...All of those things combined are me. Also, the way somebody like Madlib or J Dilla makes beats was a big inspiration; it's like sampling, cutting, pasting, and chopping. I was inspired by watching beat-making, and I saw that my work felt that way visually, that my brain assembled pieces like that.

“I was inspired by watching beat-making, and I saw that my work felt that way visually, that my brain assembled pieces like that.”

When you think of breaking down these aspects of music and transcribing it, if you will, to art, are you often using music to inspire your work?

My process has evolved. I used to play a lot of music, but now I usually try to get into an internal meditative state. At one time, I could work until 4 am with high-energy club music. As I grew in my work, the process changed. I feel zen just staring at the screen and getting the work done, and it's a different type of focus.

I've also been playing slow focus on NTS radio; it's like ambient zen music. So I wake up to that. That's my alarm, actually.

So it's pretty safe to say that music has been a strong inspiration for your work.

I work from home and have been doing so since before the pandemic. I used to have a studio, but I just realized that my work is so personal. It comes from such a personal place that I get my inspiration from being in my house with my books and records and stuff. It's a small New York apartment, so there isn't a lot of space. My desk is in the middle of the room. But it's really nice working from home.

You do have an extensive book and record collection. How did these collections come into your life?

The collections do come into your life. But very slowly. It's an accumulation. There are things that I'm really passionate about and the things that I am no longer passionate about, I make sure to get rid of. As far as records go, I have a few different collections. I have some that are records that I like to listen to, some are just rare, and then some are just for visual inspiration. I shop the dollar bin for cool records. I used to do it when I was younger. It got me interested in design—seeing really rad records from the 70s with crazy cover art, and it was always conceptual. It made you think. I still buy records in a dollar bin based on the cover because I want my record collection to resemble my book collection.

“I have some that are records that I like to listen to, some are just rare, and then some are just for visual inspiration. I shop the dollar bin for cool records.”

How has your work been shaped by the places you’ve lived or the spaces that you're in?

My work was shaped by my time in Orange County just because it was around this time I developed an interest in design. I was trying to find inspiration, and in that search, I became an online person; it's where I found the coolest stuff.

All my friends were into skateboarding, and they'd be interested in skaters because of their abilities. But the skaters I liked were those I thought were cool and stylish. I wanted to know what they were wearing, and I'd look them up.

What keeps you interested in the work you do?

Range and variety. Taking new challenges and experiences and not saying I'm just a specific type of designer or just an artist. I direct films, make books, and consult and do exhibitions. I'm just having a good time with what I'm doing and making sure to try new things and not worry about being boxed in. That's what's most exciting to me.

You've designed for the music industry. What did you learn working with musicians and people in the music industry?

I think that the music industry is interesting. You're creating a little 12x12 piece of art. I feel like you have to start with emotion when designing for music. I think back to when I was 15, and I cracked open those first CDs, and how those songs were really special to me, and I try to recreate that feeling. I want to make sure I give kids a similar experience. This approach, I feel, has pushed me to be better about iconography. I think iconography is important in music, at least in packaging.

Besides iconography, another way to keep music alive is through t-shirts. That's why there's such a huge vintage graphic tee secondary market; band tees are very rare and expensive.

“I feel like you have to start with emotion when designing for music. I think back to when I was 15, and I cracked open those first CDs, and how those songs were really special to me, and I try to recreate that feeling.”

Do you have any advice for emerging artists or young designers that are coming up in this space?

This is so cliche, but be yourself, don't be the designers you think are cool. Genuinely be you, and it's going to actually make you different. Of course, it's OK if you're still trying to find who you are. That's totally valid too, but I think being yourself is what will set you apart despite what you think.

For more design-focused stories and to learn about the new Sonos Stand from Floyd, visit 

At Home with Hassan Rahim

Today, we introduce a new color for Move: Lunar White. The hue represents months of research, formulating, and testing. It also exemplifies a key tenant of the Sonos experience—that all our products work together as part of a system not only technically but also aesthetically. It was up to Kitty Suidman, Sonos’s Design Director of Color, Material, Finish, and her team of experts to find a lighter tone that would allow 

 to seamlessly transition between the indoors and outdoors, while still harmonizing with the rest of the Sonos system. Find out how her international upbringing and life-long obsession with color prepared her to identify the perfect shade.

Choosing the color of our speakers is anything but elementary. So Kitty Suidman approaches the challenge with equal amounts of inspiration and technical expertise. Born in the Netherlands, Suidman spent 20 years in Asia before returning to her native country to attend industrial design school. During her studies, she realized that she was more drawn to colors and materials than industrial design. Daring to follow a divergent path, she graduated with a unique portfolio that equipped her to construct a rich and varied career spanning Philips Design, Motorola, and T-Mobile. Since joining Sonos seven years ago, she’s developed a rigorous yet thoughtful approach to color, rooted in deep technical knowledge that extends into chemistry and manufacturing processes. Her nuanced description of how her team landed on Move’s new shade illuminates how Sonos’s custom colors enable our speakers to seamlessly blend into your home—both indoors and out.

How would you describe Sonos’s approach to product color?

Our approach to color starts with our approach to design. And design is about finding solutions to problems. Let’s take Move as an example. As our first portable product, our problem was finding a color that allowed Move to blend in with a variety of different environments. More generally though, it’s important that we deliver color that feels timeless and versatile, something that will last for a long time. We make products that endure, and color is a part of that equation.

When I first joined, our products incorporated metallic finishes in addition to color. For example, both the black and white versions of the Play:1 have a silver grille. Starting with the second-generation Play:5, we set out to create clean, simple aesthetics by finishing the product in a single color. We want our speakers to feel less like technology in your home and more like simple, beautiful objects.

How does Sonos decide which colors to use?

If These Walls Could Play Music

When to Roam, When to Move

Voice Control, But Make It Sonos

Bright Ideas: How Sonos and IKEA Made Furniture with Brilliant Sound

Roam’s Packaging Represents a Premium Approach to Sustainability

Sub and Five: Modern Interpretations. Original Artistry.

At Home with Hassan Rahim

At Home with Hassan Rahim

Lunar White Move: A Conversation with Sonos's Design Director of Color, Material, Finish

Fresh Look, Same Brilliant Sound: Inside the New Sonos Brand Identity

The Making of Move: How We Made Our New Portable Speaker Ready for the Outdoors

Celebrating Black Businesses With Reissue of Limited Edition Sonos One SL

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