Forms and Functions

Synk reacts to the features of music that you are playing. You can also interact with sync and create your own experience with music.

The forms of Synk also synchronize with how you pull, push, and move while listening to music.

With Synk, you will engage the new way to express your thoughts and access more space for introspection.

Research

In the first phase, we started to identify what are the current barriers for the music industry and users. Especially, we targeted on how the pandemic changed the way people enjoyed music. What doese user lose when everything is on vritual? We also considerd how far we want to approach for the future perspective and also the possible solutions in the future

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Speculation

We are looking at a not so far-away future where many current blooming technologies such as Artificial intelligence, augmented reality saturate in every perspective of people's life. Cloud computing and high functional hardware facilitate the process of all types of data transmission in more dynamic, efficient, and versatile formats.

The dystopian side also undercurrents. Pollution, pandemic, and over-saturating technology make new social construction revives: it may not be an ideal society but rather a dystopian and cyberpunk one, for example, a VUCA world. People are isolated, disconnected, and stuck in their personal space. With this said, music may become a remedy for people's nostalgia about the past lifestyle.

Ideation

Based on our research, we observed the pain points of current music experience."

1. Not Immersive experience on the virtual platform
2. Lack of both internal and external connection
3. Techniques overloads but lack of introspection

Converging Concepts

We finally converging our concepts of Synk's material based on the inspiration of ferrofluid.We found the freedom of its particle-like shapes have potentials to react, suspend and animate. The simpleness within the shapes also leaves spaces for users developing introspection in the future.

Experiementation

During this phase, Patrick and I tracked user's hand gesture and also music rythmn as user input to experiment and simulate the changes of Synk fluid's shapes. In this process, we tested and prototyped with Rhino, Leapmotion, and Processing.

Narrative & Storyline

In our final phase, we started to pitch this design in the context of everyday life. We put this design into a fictional company, Synk to address this idea in more persuasive and real way.

Christian and Eryn filmed footage of everyday life's scene as the bare bone of our 2 minutes final video. We really wanted to tackle on how might Synk is pulsing and interacting in those trivia moment of people's daily routine such as working in front of desk, enjoying personal moments, or even moment of feeling bored and lonely.

Personal Insights

Music played a significant role in my life. My mom is a music teacher, and my childhood was full of her playing piano and singing. This design sprint gave me a unique chance to look at an object with which I am very familiar. Music reconstructs people, just like how design reconstructs the music. Although we faced many challenges under the current pandemic situation, we still felt how music tight us together through this process. Because of this design sprint, I could meet my awesome teammates: Christian, Eryn, and Patrick. With their talents, determination, and collaboration, we fought through these challenging but amazing design experiences. A pandemic could set a distance from each other, but the passion for design and the future will eventually re-bring people together.