TILES

Team: Kay van den Aker, Oscar Olsson, Tobias Ertel

2022 – 3 weeks

Modern music listening has lost its sense of process. Everything is hidden behind a screen, and any song is just one click away, with little sonic, haptic, or visual feedback.

We want to bring that process back through a tangible interface. What could searching, switching, and selecting music actually sound and feel like? How can we make listening feel like an elegant process again, rather than simple consumption?

We also want to rethink how we share music with others, making control more democratic, playful, and social.

Industrial Design

Interaction Design

3D modeling

Visualisation

Model Making

Tiles is divided into two parts.

The top part displays the user's highly personal and beloved music library, offering a clear view of the beautiful art covers. The lower part is the actual player. Here, an album or song is mechanically inserted from the top part. The E-Ink screen conveys information about the current album to the left. Using the dial on the right, the user can for example adjust the volume or do other playback controls. With the help of buttons on the top right corner, the user can easily filter between songs, albums, artists, and playlists when scrolling through the library.

The prototype you can see above is the work of my talented friend, Kay

Tiles is an exploration of how a tangible interface in combination with artificial sounds can convey the message of music listening as the sophisticated process it was intended to be.

Our approach is a device that emphasizes the albums; their artworks and information. In contrast to music streaming apps, Tiles provokes a careful selection of music and elegant interactions to enjoy your favorite tunes.

This outcome is the result of 15 days of work by four passionate designers, working closely together with complementary skills and a shared vision.