Qleek: A Beautiful Way to Play, Share, and Collect Your Music

A Unique Music Player Designed by Johanna Hartzheim

Qleek, designed by Johanna Hartzheim, is a music player that seamlessly combines the digital and physical worlds. Inspired by Naoto Fukasawa's CD player, Qleek offers users a quiet, simple, and inquisitive music experience. It aims to provide invisible, insightful, and liberating human interactions with music.

What sets Qleek apart is its unique approach to playing, sharing, and collecting music. Made from sustainable beechwood sourced in France, Qleek uses wooden hexagons to represent the physical incarnation of digital songs, playlists, and artists. Each hexagon, called a Qleek, is a link to a playlist or an artist and is automatically synced with most online music services.

The Qleek player itself measures 160 mm x 160 mm x 25 mm, while the Qleeks hexagons are 80 mm x 70 mm x 12 mm in size. This compact design allows users to easily incorporate Qleek into their living rooms, offices, or stores.

Operating Qleek is as simple as placing a Qleek on its player. Instantly, your favorite playlists, artists, or shows start playing, providing a record-like experience without losing the benefits of the digital era. Qleek aims to fill the gap left by screen-based music by offering a tactile feel and the rituals of playing physical records.

The development of Qleek was not without its challenges. The design team had to strike a balance between providing users with creative freedom when designing their Qleek covers and maintaining a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing experience. The hexagonal shape of the Qleeks allows for modularity while ensuring a harmonious connection within the user's Qleeks library.

Qleek was born out of the realization that many music enthusiasts still value the physical collection and the library experience. In a survey of over 400 participants, 55% highlighted the importance of the physical aspect of music. Qleek aims to bridge the gap between the digital and physical by offering a medium for new media that combines the best of both worlds.

Since its inception in early 2013 in Paris, the Qleek project underwent a year of research and development in France before the team moved to Boston in February 2015 to join Bolt.io, a renowned hub for building physical products in the US.

Qleek has garnered recognition for its innovative design. In 2016, it was awarded the Bronze A' Design Award in the Futuristic Design category. This prestigious award is bestowed upon designs that exhibit strong technical and creative skills and contribute to quality of life improvements.

Qleek, with its unique blend of art, design, and technology, offers a beautiful way to play, share, and collect your music. It brings back the joy of physical music while embracing the convenience of the digital age.

Intellectual property rights for Qleek belong to Qleek Inc., 2016.