Topos

Designing an intuitive sound-shaping experience.

Employer
Forever 89
Role
Product designer
Deliverables
UX design, Design system, Interface design, Prototype
Platform
macOS, Windows
Year
2024

Topos is a VST/AU plug-in that lets you explore the personality of classic studio gear, seamlessly blend between iconic tonal colors, and design your speaker sound down to the finest detail. I joined the Forever 89 team in fall 2024 to help shape their second product in its earliest stages. Collaborating closely with the two founders, I explored how the product could function and feel, ultimately delivering a complete product design.

A MacBook showcasing Topos, an audio plug-in from Forever 89.

Since its release in March 2025, Topos has gained attention from several news outlets:

“
Forever 89 has designed another imaginative product that boldly explores uncharted sonic terrain - in more ways than one.
MusicRadar
“
It managed to bring something interesting to the table in all circumstances.
BRP
“
Best of all is its simplicity and ease of use. It requires hardly any powerful equipment and, in return, delivers excellent results in a pleasant and minimalist environment.
futuremusic.es
“
I don’t know of any plugin that goes so deep but still remains so accessible.
Synth Anatomy
“
It sounds great, has a well-thought-out design, and all the parameters make sense, letting you easily tailor the distortion to both your audio material and personal taste.
Polarity Music
“
The Only Saturation and Amp Simulation Tool You’ll Ever Need?
Gear News

The Amp and Speaker Maps.

The Amp and Speaker Maps let users dynamically explore emulations, seamlessly blend tones, and discover textures beyond the reach of traditional hardware, creating a playful yet focused production workflow.

Light and Dark theme of Topos, showing Amplifier details and Speaker details respectively.

We implemented an advanced color variable system in the design system, making theming like dark mode far easier to manage and scale.

A collection of different user interface explorations for Topos, showing the Tone filter, Amp Emphasis, Amp, Signal Flow, and more. — A collection of different UI explorations.

I iterated extensively on both the UX and visual design of the plug-in. Along the way, I tested a few different visual styles to find a look that supported the functionality without getting in the way of the workflow.

Different interaction pattern examples for the Tone Filter of Topos. — Iterating on interaction UX of controlling the tone amount parameter.

17 different visual styles for a software rotary knob. — In the later visual stage, iterating on the look of rotary knobs.

Fun fact: I composed the music for the announcement trailer too! Watch it below.