Wheel can play 12’’ vinyl records at 33⅓ and 45 revolutions. This does not seem so special for a record player. However, Wheel is very special, because literally everything that is required to play a record has been incorporated in this turntable: tone arm, motor and amplifiers. All the features are controlled by a stick in the centre; the record is played from the underside. No buttons, no display, no remote control, not ’smart’. One on/off lamp. This compact mechanical machine engaged in a successful crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter in February 2017. Wheel will be launched on the market in the beginning of 2018.

In all simplicity the record and player amplify each other in an aesthetic sense. Wheel was born of the demand from music lovers to improve the ergonomics of playing records. The committee values this stunning piece of anti-high-tech. The designers have nevertheless managed to completely reinvent a product that has been on the market for literally more than a century. The splendid design makes Wheel desirable for everyone. The committee considers it especially interesting that, through the Kickstarter trend, the point at which a product is ‘ready’ for use is blurred.