Tactile Interface For Music
(2019)
While we’re surrounded by navigatingtouchpads, our tactile existence is deemed conspicuously dull. We’re relying ona highly convenient way of controlling something, though relaxing with music at home. Since we are gradually losing the satisfaction of touching experiences,we should recognize what their vital role would meanon a daily basis. Philosophers, writers, and artists have long regarded touch as a powerful sense, capable of revealing truth when our eyes may deceive us. While vision is often associated with knowledge, touch stands out as the most evocative of emotions. When encountering an unfriendly person, we commonly describe them as "cold." As we are deeply inspired by something, these experiences help us build cognitive activity.
Intuitive visual information:
The music interface is designed with shapes to facilitate a user-friendly comprehension of each function, eliminating restrictions based on cultural or language differences. However, we can interpret each function only when our sight is possible. To expand the norm of buttons, I devised a synesthetic music interface that allows users to recognize all functions not only visually but also through tactile stimuli.
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- Play / Pause
The music interface is designed with shapes to facilitate a user-friendly comprehension of each function, eliminating restrictions based on cultural or language differences. However, we can interpret each function only when our sight is possible. To expand the norm of buttons, I devised a synesthetic music interface that allows users to recognize all functions not only visually but also through tactile stimuli.
- Play / Pause
- Play Next / Previous
- Volume Up / Down
1. Tangible user interface
Keep the legacy of icon features in the pattern:
The music icons intuitively represent
each function. Changing globally used visual icons that have been in use for a
long time has the possibility of causing the biggest cognitive conflict.
Therefore, I conducted research to develop tactile patterns that maintain the
character of a universal interface while eliciting an intuitive and
sophisticated response, allowing users to utilize products without the need for
learning.
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2. Haptic feedback
Enhance haptic interaction by pressing and pushing:
Unlike the uniform surface of a
laptop's trackpad, our fingers can discern functional information through
tactile pattern configurations. Adjusting different stimulations by applying a
haptic perception, such as lateral motion and pressure, to a functional feature
makes you interact actively with a tactile interface. This sensible experience,
engaging multiple senses, enhances our overall enjoyment of the product.
Let’s suppose this mark ( ︎ ) as BTS songs of “Butter,” ( ︎ ) “Boys with LUV” and ( ︎ ) “Dymanite.”
Now, Imagine. You are listening ( ︎ ) while sitting on a sofa.
Someone abruptly asks for something from you, and you will press the pause button.
This disconnected flow of ( ︎ ) elicits touching hardness when you press.
And then you press the pause button to play again. It means the flow of ( ︎ )
connects naturally, inducing a
feeling of lightness.
* Play - Pause button is in the same stream, but it disconnects or connects repeatedly.
Moving on to the next or previous song means the flow of ( ︎ ) is completely changed by ( ︎ ) or ( ︎ ).
In this sense, you feel the slide friction at the ends of your fingers.
* Play Next - Previous button changes a completely different stream from the existing one.
If you are distracted by outdoor noise, you will push the volume button in an upside direction throughout the identical flow of ( ︎ ).
* The volume control button is in the same stream when turning up and down.
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3. Intuitive tactile experience
Find the delicate height of the embossed pattern:
In addition to creating tactile patterns, I
delved into the instinctive aspect of touch, focusing on spontaneous responses.
The height of the embossed pattern plays an essential role in discerning the
haptic stimulation. For example, when the embossing was too shallow, ranging
from approximately 0.3mm to 0.8mm, immediate recognition of the difference
between resistance and softness was challenging. Through hands-on experiments,
I gathered valuable data indicating that a height exceeding 1mm is an optimal
extent for this pattern.
