Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541612
36 W I N T E R 2 0 2 6 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y everyday by playing back the tapes on our Varicams. I wanted something high quality to use so we didn't need to listen from the tiny camera speakers. When I went to the store to purchase a professional monitor set, knowing nothing about various brand offerings, I chose Genelec because I thought they looked "cool." I asked Siamak Naghian about the importance of aesthetics to which he replied, "If you look at the whole history of Genelec, we have been using the industrial design every now and then, but since 2005, we decided [especially with the 8000 series] around that time and after, we have been very much taking care of the industrial design. The product could be beautiful, so why not? But at the same time, we have been looking at the kind of industrial design that could be integrated to the monitor that could also serve the acoustical purpose. And that is the whole thing that we have done. We have the same principle. We would like to have that foundation and we have been using industrial design to support that. It has been offering the appearance and the pleasure in the appearance. And now, after a long time, we have been working with a very well-known Finnish industrial designer, Harri Koskinen, who is internationally known. I would say that industrial design is the number one thing that we have to look at because it has become such an essential part of the Genelec brand. And, globally, wherever you see [our speakers], it's a kind of standard thing, but they are also beautiful." To which Piia-Riitta Bergman agreed: "It's recognizable." Siamak Naghian continued: "At the same time, it's part of the company culture and the Finnish culture because it also represents a certain minimalistic thinking and way of living that is very deep in the Finnish society. And I think it's well in line with the sustainability thinking and quality of life." IN CONCLUSION: FUTURE COLLABORATION I mentioned to Siamak the idea that the Cinema Audio Society would like to collaborate with people like them and companies like Genelec for educational purposes. Siamak Naghian opened up about my proposition this way, "Very often, people come here, and there are not as many possibilities for people nowadays to see this kind of environment, you know: Made in Finland. We have everything here; we have from the circuit board up to the end. It is something that we have been very open to share with people. We organize a lot of these types of factory visits. People have been really appreciating that. People who have been here over 20 years ago just once, they have always remembered because of the nature, the factory environment, people, and the atmosphere. I think this is something that we would like to do more in the future so that we bring people here and get connected. And if those people are users, we can get direct feedback on what they think. "Today, for example, I learned a lot when you were discussing movies and the whole process and so on. Also, connection with the community that you have. I think that would be very interesting in terms of learning. But more and more, we have been trying to get connected to different groups of people who really care about the quality, quality of the content, quality of the audio. If you look at the mainstream, you look at music production, streaming services, digitalization. These have been effective in bringing new possibilities to people. But somebody has to also take care of the quality. And I think the communities like what you have [sound for picture] and the type of work that you do is something where we have the responsibility to take care that there will be people in the future who will be taking care of the quality and not solely how much content you create. We have an opportunity here because more and more people have realized that quality is important as is quality of life. Having more insight on listening and the hearing sensation as a whole can allow us to experience that quality even more." Thank you Siamak and all of Genelec for taking the time to give me this wonderful tour, for being so kind to my wife and I, and for sitting down to talk to me about the company and allowing it to have such a huge impact on how I view Finland overall. Hopefully, we'll be able to organize some workshops, factory tours, and overall collaboration for the love of sound quality and the quality of life!