Sexism in the audio industry.
It’s been discussed to death, mostly in the context of the very low percentage of women in the industry, as performers, engineers, producers, everything. And while it has been changing, there’s still a long way to go.
Which all makes me go “Huh??” when I see something like this. This is MIRROR, a new audio interface from MidiPlus. At first glance, you could be mistaken for thinking it’s the latest make-up kit. But no, this is 1 input, 2 output, 24 bit, 192kHz USB audio interface. With a built-in mirror. Yep, you heard that right. You can check that your eye shadow isn’t running while mastering your next worldwide hit. From the web page:
It’s just like a black diamond treasure box. Polished glossy cover and frosted metal body gives the first impression. Once opened, we hope to bring a bigger surprise. So we created a series of formal and exciting ritual for operating experience. Gently open the cover, the moment of launching the mirror light. Twirl the colourful eye-shadow shaped knobs, glance at the equaliser LED. Enjoy the waves of sweet interaction.
After taking in the badly translated propaganda, you start to wonder how anyone thought this was a good idea, let alone a whole design/marketing team. But no, it isn’t an April Fools joke, it’s an actual product.
So if you need the reassurance of pastel eye-shadow knobs and a mirror while working, by all means buy one. The rest of us will be happily plodding along using our rather boring looking but functional interfaces to actually get stuff done.