Slice of Living 2019
Bringing creator’s visions
into living spaces
Sony has spent decades exploring the realms of possibility in visual expression. At the heart of that unending pursuit is the ultimate goal: rendering the artistic intent of visual creators—exactly what they envision—on a TV screen. How is that possible? The 2019 BRAVIA models are one answer to that question. The lineup’s new designs, which play up the unique features of 8K LCD TVs and every other model’s unique performance attributes, create direct channels between creators’ artistic visions and viewers at home.
Communicating
entire visions
Aiming to develop a TV like no other, a system that could present visuals exactly the way the creative minds behind them intended, Sony has poured innovation upon innovation into the BRAVIA series. In making those technological strides, Sony has transformed the viewing experience. The A1/A1E Series of 4K OLED TVs, for example, fuse image and sound together to bring content to life—and make living rooms into movie theaters. When you watch an A1/A1E TV, the experience is so immersive, so rich in realism, that it almost seems like the characters are talking to you. The content inhabits the space completely.
The 2019 BRAVIA lineup features more models, making Sony’s Sound-from-Picture Reality™ even more accessible. The designers set their sights on finding a delicate balance: maximizing the performance of each individual model but minimizing the noise that can interfere with viewing experiences. By making the viewing experience as pure and authentic as possible, the design team was hoping to create a whole new identity for the BRAVIA series—a family of products capable of capturing exactly what visual creators want to convey and reproducing the emotional power of their messages.
The BRAVIA Series draws on the “Slice of Living” design philosophy, an aesthetic that incorporates elements and manners of living-room settings to enhance the harmony between the TV and the surrounding space. That means fusing the power of technology and design into incredible viewing environments—but never letting the design get intrusive. If you want to harmonize with a living space, you have to concentrate on a sense of minimal, simple comfort. For the latest entries in the BRAVIA Series, we incorporated a new design concept into the top-end model: “Blade Architecture.” With that brand-new element shaping the designs, the aesthetic takes the BRAVIA concept deeper in bringing out everything visual media has to offer.
Tako, chief art director
“Blades” carve open paths
into unprecedented visual experiences
To strike a harmonious chord between picture and sound for the “Z9G/ZG9” 8K LCD TV, Sony’s vision of the ultimate viewing experience, we needed to unlock aural performance that could match up to the stunningly pristine resolution of 8K technology. We had our share of other needs to meet, too: a stand and bezel that could support the giant 98/85 screen frame, a heat-dissipation structure capable of keeping the enormous amounts of data in 8K imagery from overheating the processing devices, and plenty of other performance-oriented requirements.
As we worked out the optimal approach to clearing all those hurdles, we eventually came up with the “Blade Architecture” design concept—an aesthetic that foregrounds a structure of blade-thin layers. One of our main goals was to reflect the sparkling beauty of 8K resolution in our design, which we did by filling the bezel with “blades” and creating a shadowing effect that gives the bezel a matte-like, ebony quality. The concept extends to the new speakers at the top of the screen, too, putting them inside blades to unite the audio with the overall design. On the visual side, we used aluminum to give the system the heat-release properties it needs to play contents in 8K. The creative forms of the “Blade Architecture” concept, which sublimates all the requirements in a functional capacity, stand as symbolic statements of a truly unique experience: a seamless fusion of image and sound in the stratospheres of 8K resolution.
Design details—
more than just decorations
To make the union of 8K image and sound a reality, we had to make every design detail functional. The distinctive pattern on the back surface, evoking the look of an anechoic chamber wall, not only enhances the rigidity of the casing but also suppresses vibrations for better sound stability. More than just providing functional benefits, the pattern even helps conceal all the exhaust ports and other elements dotting the rear surface. The stand, meanwhile, features a compact design to maintain a discreet presence and keep the viewing experience free of distractions. Providing the casing with sturdy support, the stand uses a two-slate structure for the kind of sleek, compact look that lets viewers concentrate on the imagery—not the structural components on the periphery.
Sony’s newest 8K LCD TV is part of the BRAVIA MASTER Series, a top-grade line of models that meet visual creators’ needs at the highest levels possible. The product design had to capture that kind of astounding visual quality—we needed a visual statement of the TV’s performance. That’s why we went for a look that exuded professional-grade capability, a design where every last detail packs a functional punch.
Yokota, senior art director
Complete functionality in
“one slate”
Sony’s design concept for OLED TVs, the “One Slate” aesthetic, draws on the unique properties of OLED panels to condense visual and aural experiences into a single slice of entertainment functionality. Aiming to sharpen the focus of that ideal for the 2019 models, the design team made the TV stand even smaller to soften the presence of the structural design and let the immersive visuals command center stage. We designed the A9G/AG9 stand with the slimmest look possible, as well, giving it a geometric round form for a subtler visual statement. The A8G/AG8 has unique design features, too. Users can adjust the height of the stand, which gives the TV a broader range of compatibility with different soundbars and home theater systems.
Tidy minimalism
We wanted to accentuate the slim profile of the 4K OLED panel, which strikes a stunningly graceful figure in any living-room setting all by itself—even before it turns on. To do that, we experimented with taking the “block” component out of the traditional slate-and-block configuration. What could we do with slates alone? We found out: consolidating the substrates between individual slates let us create a minimal design in a tidy arrangement of slices, creating a clean, orderly look from the side. With geometric patterning on the back cover and features for effortless cable management, the design comes together in a package that dazzles wherever it goes in a living-room setting.
Setting a new standard
The 4K LCD TVs in the BRAVIA lineup realize the integrated image-sound experience by placing the tweeter on the back panel, but the other design elements take viewing to a whole new plane of immersion. One key for the design team was the stand, which we made slimmer than ever. Situating the stand in a configuration that points the individual legs outward in the front for a minimal look with optimal stability, the designers used high-rigidity metal to give the support structure maximum strength in a minimal profile. The X95G/XG95 features a stand style that strikes a smooth, linear “L” shape from the side, while the X85G/XG85 rests with a light, nimble look on the support points of inverted “V” legs. The details go beyond the stand shapes, though: the design also conceals tiny strips of non-slip material on the stand, thereby blending functionality with a minimal-noise aesthetic.
Visuals, sound, design, and environment
in perfect harmony
The team wanted to give every BRAVIA TV the power to wow whether the device was on or off—the design had to make the TV a pleasure to look at as a physical inhabitant of the space. By using an almost cloak-like finish on the back surface, minimizing the profile of the cable cover, and making other tweaks, we made sure that the TV could harmonize beautifully with the surrounding environment. The rounded corners on the stand are just another example of how the team went to every imaginable length to create a warm, welcoming look for the products—eminently comfortable additions to any living room.
We worked with engineers to figure out how strong and thin we could make the stand for the new 4K LCD TVs with the metals we had at our disposal. In the end, we managed to eliminate extraneous elements and come up with an ultra-slim form. What’s left is a natural expression of nothing but the essentials: the innate beauty of the materials themselves and a pure-grade viewing experience.
Tsujita, art director
BRAVIA is in constant pursuit of the highest-quality visual experiences:
faithful recreations of what visual creators see, feel, and imagine in their artistic visions.
Note: Available products are depending on a region.