I'm an Industrial Designer and I do appreciate a thoughtfully designed piece of audio gear. I generally prefer silver especially when there are polished edge chamfers and other fine details.
I have often envisioned other materials and finishes that I think would be fantastic for audio designs. One that comes to mind is glass. There are challenges but, I think glass is underutilized. I can visualize a soft matte texture on the backside of a 1/4" thick glass panel that is back or edge lit with a tasteful glow across the surface. The lettering could be cut into the backside and when lit from below these details could stand out like a piece of Steuben glass. Glass can be shaped and formed.
My Abel fly reels also have some fantastic anodized finishes that I think would apply to audio gear. I have seen some clear finishes over aluminum, with a slight hint of color, that would give a beautiful tinted look to the silver- like silver teal or smoked aluminum....
Not much risk-taking going on in audio gear design.
I have often envisioned other materials and finishes that I think would be fantastic for audio designs. One that comes to mind is glass. There are challenges but, I think glass is underutilized. I can visualize a soft matte texture on the backside of a 1/4" thick glass panel that is back or edge lit with a tasteful glow across the surface. The lettering could be cut into the backside and when lit from below these details could stand out like a piece of Steuben glass. Glass can be shaped and formed.
My Abel fly reels also have some fantastic anodized finishes that I think would apply to audio gear. I have seen some clear finishes over aluminum, with a slight hint of color, that would give a beautiful tinted look to the silver- like silver teal or smoked aluminum....
Not much risk-taking going on in audio gear design.