I would say it is part science/engineering and part industrial design.
On the engineering side as others have replied this type of phase plug is well known.
Here is a ScanSpeak Illuminator D3004/6040-00 Beryllium dome tweeter.
And a closeup of the Persona tweeter.
It is a bit counter intuitive how these work. At tweeter frequencies the wavelength of the sounds are so small it is a fraction of the done's dimension. Sound from the center of the dome is radiated a little before sound from the edge. This time difference yields what is know as destructive interference. The 'destructive' effect referenced is the out of phase energy from different parts of the dome summing and due to the out of phase property reducing the output. A secondary effect is when the tweeter is operating outside its range of piston motion. Different areas of the dome move at different rates which also leads to out of phase outputs. Years ago it was discovered blocking the center as ScanSpeak does with the little clear disk and the Persona accomplishes with the pattern in the metal forces the radiation from the dome center to take a slight detour and that added length brings that output back in phase with the rest of the dome's output.
A second issue is these are drivers with pure Beryllium diaphragms. The Persona Beryllium midrange is the first I have seen since the iconic Yamaha NS-1000. Beryllium is a toxic metal and these are made from a very thin foil. As a practical matter Beryllium will only be potentially toxic if you work in a factory processing it. However I expect the lawyers at Paradigm wanted the Beryllium covered. As an owner you want it covered because if anyone touches the dome of the tweeter or come of the midrange that will be a sad expensive day. As a granddad who has repaired the dust caps my granddaughter pushed in I like those grills.
Where the engineering issue meets industrial design is what I consider the brilliant sleek styling of the Persona range. The pattern of the grill holes, its shape and integration into the rest of the design.
And then there is the woofers. Look typical enough from the outside. Hidden inside is the motor structure.
Yeah, I want to hear those!
