designbriefs
Industrial

Braun T3 Pocket Radio

The Braun T3 offers a compact case study in the relationship between a handheld enclosure and its controls.

The T3 is a Braun pocket radio with a plastic casing. MoMA dates the design to 1958 and credits Dieter Rams together with the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm. The museum's example measures approximately 8.3 by 15.2 by 4.1 centimetres.

Subject
Work
Materials
Plastic casing
Dimensions
8.3 × 15.2 × 4.1 cm (MoMA example)
Manufacturer
Braun AG
Worth your time?

Selectively. Start with the brief, then study the parts we point at.

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          The design analysis1 min read

          A pocket-sized radio

          The T3 is a Braun pocket radio with a plastic casing. MoMA dates the design to 1958 and credits Dieter Rams together with the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm. The museum’s example measures approximately 8.3 by 15.2 by 4.1 centimetres.

          Credit and scale

          That compact scale makes the relationship between handling and operation a useful focus. The institutional credit also matters: the object belongs to a collaboration between industrial production and design education, rather than an account of individual authorship alone.

          What to examine

          Study how the enclosure organizes the information and actions needed to tune and listen. Compare a photograph with the recorded dimensions before drawing conclusions about use; an enlarged image can disguise the scale of controls. The T3 is worth examining as an actual portable device, with specific tasks and physical limits, as well as a widely reproduced design image.

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