Axel Hartmann (Designer)

Axel Hartmann 2013

Axel Hartmann is a German industrial designer who has made a name for himself in the industry with the design of synthesizers . He was also a founding member of the synthesizer manufacturer Hartmann Music and the design company Designbox and developed the Neuron Synthesizer based on technology from Prosoniq .

After four years of studying as a product designer in Saarbrücken , Hartmann was hired by Waldorf Synthesizer as a designer in 1989 . His first assignment was to design the Waldorf Microwave , which has become a classic in the industry. In the following years he was responsible for designing the entire range of Waldorf products. In addition to various design awards, he also received the red dot design award for the Waldorf Wave .

After Axel Hartmann had his own business, he helped as a last order for Waldorf in designing the Waldorf Q . In addition, he contacted various large manufacturers and thus also got the order to design the Alesis Andromeda A6 . He was approached by Arturia at a music fair in the USA and was later given the task of working out the graphical user interfaces of their software synthesizers.

After more than 10 years as a designer for other companies, he decided to develop his own synthesizer. Together with Stephan Bernsee , he developed the concept for a synthesizer with a new type of sound synthesis. In 2000 he founded Hartmann Music and brought the Neuron Synthesizer onto the market, the parameters of which have no fixed assignment and which is based on adaptive software. A software version was also released. Hartmann himself says that although the synthesizer sounds very good, it has never reached the desired level of development.

While working on the Neuron, Hartmann continued to work for other companies. One of the most famous products from this period is the Moog Minimoog Voyager .

He also founded the design company Design Box with his former student colleague Stephan Leitl and, in addition to other orders for the synthesizer industry (such as the Access Virus TI ), also worked for various companies from different areas.

Web links

• Interview with Axel Hartmann