abSYNTHe
Interaction Design
UX/UI Design
Functional Prototype
Academic work created Fall 2022
abSYNTHe is a tool to make electronic music production easier for musicians to understand.
By using touch gestures inspired by physical instruments, abSYNTHe empowers musicians to control complex functionality in a simple and elegant way–one that feels familiar to them.
Process / Research / More Info
This is Serum, a popular digital synthesizer.
Music producers use digital synthesizers to create new electronic sounds by running a signal through a selection of modules that each change it in some way until a unique sound is produced.The Problem:
Digital synth has a high learning curve for musicians because it lacks the intuitive feeling of traditional instruments.
What is this intuitive feeling?
Traditional instruments provide live feedback, meaning musicians can see and feel what they are doing in real time. One unique attribute of a musician’s gesture on the instrument (e.g. how hard you hit a key) typically controls one quality of their sound output (e.g. the volume of the note played).
Where digital interfaces lose musicians
Synth takes this dynamic away by forcing a user to control almost every attribute by clicking and dragging skeumorphic knobs on the screen. This limits users to manipulating only one attribute at a time, and takes away a musician’s ability to control many characteristics of sound with a single gesture.
User Testing
Problem Statement:
New synth users need a synthesizer with 1:1 interaction, visualized functionality, and live feedback–because these qualities allow them to control synth like an instrument, making it more intuitive.
Ideation
Prototyping
Designed Solution
abSYNTHe is divided into interactive touch-screen modules, which each have 1:1 interaction, visual functionality and live feedback.
In two fluid gestures, this interface allows a user to control the below attributes. In most digital synthesizers, this would take over 5 clicks (and each attribute has to be toggled one-at-a-time)
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Watch the video below for a full deep dive.
Watch the video below for a full deep dive.