British Design | Performance Loudspeakers | Experts Since 1972
Joined: 2005
Department: Product Design
Job Title: Senior Product Designer
I had been working as an Urban Designer for six months when the Junior Product Designer role was advertised at Monitor Audio Group. That year, I had just graduated with my Product & Furniture Design degree and was actively looking for my first job in the product design industry. Luckily for me, the company was very close to home, and I managed to secure the role from hundreds of applicants.
Coming straight out of university, I was looking for a place where I could grow as a designer, stay curious, and create products that really mattered to people. Music has always been a huge part of my life and still is, so I knew that this role was the perfect first step. The combination of real product design work and a team that valued creativity and innovation was what drew me in—and what has kept me here for the past 20 years! I was the first female product designer on the team, which, in a male-dominated industry, I was very proud of. I’m pleased to say that since then, the design team (and the company!) has grown and now includes more talented women.
This is a hard question to answer, as there have been so many! But to narrow it down to two projects, it would have to be Mass 1G and Roksan – Attessa.
Mass 1G is a compact home cinema system. It was the first time we developed a system that celebrated and utilised the properties of a plastic-molded cabinet combined with high-quality brushed aluminium trims. It was challenging from a design perspective, as the speakers were curved and less intrusive than many of our traditional floor-standing speakers. The system went on to win a Red Dot Design Award. The jury’s feedback: “The coherent sculptural design of this speaker system conveys a high degree of independence and individuality.”
Our electronics brand, Roksan, celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. Monitor Audio Group acquired the company back in 2016, which was a huge (and exciting!) addition to MAG. I was lucky enough to lead the product design for our Attessa range—our first collection of electronics products since the acquisition. This required a totally new approach to design: new materials, processes, and finishes. I learned so much from working on the project, and the design language we established has since continued throughout the Roksan range—something I’m very proud of.
When I joined the company 20 years ago as a Junior Product Designer, my focus was mainly on learning our design language from the ground up. My first project was working on a subwoofer from our first Platinum series, the PLW-15—at the time one of our biggest speakers. Our project-development timeline has generally remained the same: competitor and market research, concept generation and sketch ideation (my favourite part!), 3D modelling, then taking the design through the quotation phase and into mass production. It is incredibly fulfilling as a designer to be involved in the entire process, seeing your ideas come to life and ultimately being bought and enjoyed by enthusiasts.
Over time, as I gained experience and confidence, my responsibilities steadily grew. My role has expanded beyond product design into guiding cross-functional collaboration with our acoustics and electronics teams, mentoring younger designers, and working closely with our team in China on design, engineering, and manufacturing. I had no idea I would stay with one company for 20 years, but each project brings new challenges, and I’m still learning. Since joining, our design team has grown from three designers to seven—a combination of product designers and mechanical engineers. We work closely together and utilise each other’s strengths to enhance the outcome of our designs.
Teamwork. We have a group of very talented individuals at MAG, but working together and utilising everyone’s unique skill set is what truly makes our company great.
Be more confident! As a junior, your USP is your fresh, “green” mind filled with new and creative ideas. Don’t be afraid to put them forward and explore many different avenues before narrowing down to the final design.
Dynamic.
