Its headphones look like precision instruments: all sharp edges, polished chamfers and honeycomb grilles that wouldn't look out of place on a supercar's air intake. We spoke to Edgar Paccoud, innovation project manager at Focal, about where that look comes from, and surprisingly, it turns out very little of it is decorative. Coherent design languageDespite what you might assume, Focal's honeycomb and circular grille patterns weren't dreamt up as a signature look and then applied across the range. "They emerged through the collaborative work between Focal's design and engineering teams as we developed a stronger and more coherent design language for our headphones." "It's one of the most efficient geometries from both a mechanical and acoustic standpoint," Edgar notes.