Type:
Web App (iOS Tablet)
Company:
Music Health
Year:
2024
Role:
UX Research + UI Design
Managing the research & design process
UI design and interactive prototyping, testing
Design documentation, handover to Dev, AQ testing
Tools:
Figma & Plugins, Notion
Adobe Suite (Photoshop and Premiere)
Ever wondered what makes your music preferences tick?
VibeDNA is a unique music assessment app featured in Sennheiser's MirrorBox experience at the Vivid Sydney Festival 2024. Developed by the Music Health team, VibeDNA invites festival-goers on a journey of discovery, revealing their musical tastes and personas.
The experience begins with an interactive assessment that identifies each visitor’s musical VibeDNA. Next, they step into MirrorBox, where they experience a captivating journey into sound. In the final phase, a quick face scan completes the assessment, and Sennheiser sends each visitor a follow-up email. This email unveils their unique music persona and rewards them with a personalised Spotify playlist curated specifically for them based on their VibeDNA results.
Research
Our research process began by thoroughly understanding the project brief and taking a holistic approach to the visitor experience. We aimed to define the stages of the festival journey, mapping out how VibeDNA could seamlessly integrate into the MirrorBox experience. This involved analyzing the visitor's journey to identify touchpoints where VibeDNA could create impactful interactions.
We also examined similar installations, exhibitions, and apps to better understand the dynamics of immersion, interaction, and reward. These insights shaped our approach to designing an engaging and memorable experience for festival-goers.
Experience a three-stage, immersive journey into your musical soul, blending high-tech interactivity with joy. Conclude with a tailored music taste assessment and personalized stations, uniquely rewarding your emotional and auditory journey
Interact
Stage 1
Immerse
Stage 2
Reward
Stage 3
Experience Staging
Experience Staging
Visitor Journey
The VibeDNA model offers a novel way to look at music preferences, moving beyond genres to a more personalized understanding of what drives our music choices. By engaging with this model, users can gain deeper insights into their musical selves, enhancing their listening experience and broadening their musical horizons.
Identify your VIBE Scores
Understand your listener preferences
Learn about your music persona
Apply it to your music choices
Share and compare
Define & Ideate
Building on insights from our research, we began by identifying key design considerations in line with the project brief. One of our primary challenges was creating a complete, engaging assessment experience within a 4-minute timeframe.
We defined the essential features for the assessment and conducted a competitive analysis for each, focusing on elements like facial scanning, music playback, and survey interactions. We then developed the user flow, outlining the core steps of the assessment, and defined the musical personas that would guide the personalized experience.
iPad Stations - User ID
Key Design Considerations
Web app, Device: iPad Pro - Portrait mode
Facial Scan - Consent, T&Cs, feedback to user / place your head here - avoiding funny faces and others in the background
Offline Mode: Varying conditions, inconsistent internet connection
4-min Experience: Linear - Next, next, next... No option to go back and edit answer
2-staged Interaction: Onboarding (before mirrorbox) & Offboarding (after mirrorbox)
2-staged Survey: Music & Personality assessment
Reset: Visitor/user resetting the experience as they leave
Key Features
User Flow
Listener Types - Personas
Design & Prototype
As part of our design process, we began exploring different concepts and created storyboards to visualize our ideas. Given the theme of 'journey into sound,' we focused on incorporating sound-related elements, such as soundwave ripples emanating from speakers. We developed a design system to streamline our workflow, defining key elements like colors, typography, and reusable components with different states.
After designing the initial set of screens, we built an interactive prototype with animations to bring the experience to life. Taking a holistic view of the entire experience, we also designed posters to guide visitors while they were waiting in line for MirrorBox.
Just days before the festival, we were asked to adapt the design for a dark version of VibeDNA to better suit the mirrored box with its dark interior. With our design system and set components already in place, we were able to quickly implement the necessary changes.
Design System
UI Design - Light Screens
Interactive Prototype
Onboarding
Click to Play Video
Offboarding
Click to Play Video
UI Design - Dark Screens
Installation, Test & Outcome
Our team handled the setup of the onboarding and offboarding rooms for VibeDNA, ensuring a seamless experience for visitors from start to finish. We installed the devices and conducted several rounds of testing to ensure everything was running smoothly. Additionally, we prepared detailed instructions for volunteers to handle any issues that might arise. We remained on-site until and after the opening, fully experiencing the process ourselves—from queuing up and completing the assessment to stepping into the MirrorBox sound experience. It was incredibly rewarding to see so many festival-goers eager to engage with VibeDNA and MirrorBox.
Installation
Email from Sennhesier
Outcome
MirrorBox welcomed nearly 7,000 visitors, and the experience led to a high level of engagement, with thousands of visitors not only receiving their personalized music personas but also actively opening and listening to their unique Spotify playlists. This highlighted the success of the experience in connecting visitors with their musical identity. Being involved in this project from start to finish, and seeing all the visitors enjoying the experience, was the most valuable reward of our hard work.
If you would like to know more about the project