“Products that aim to replicate drumming or make recording drumming easier often fall short in certain areas. Namely many products fail to accurately reproduce the small imperfections that create the personality of a performance” – Tim Patten, music producer.
Audiomap
Skills
Industrial Design
Graphic Design
UX Design
Tools
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
Solidworks
Keyshot Studio
Description
My major project during my undergraduate studies in Product Design (BSc), Audiomap is an innovative spatial tracking system that allows users to turn the space around them into a fully-programmable MIDI controller.
About
I’ve always been a musician, but during the COVID-19 pandemic I found it really difficult to practice and play while living in a small shared space. I missed the freedom of rehearsing in studios and playing the odd gig, and it felt like my creativity was being boxed in.
At the same time, I noticed how many people were starting to record and produce music from their bedrooms, turning limited space into fully functioning home studios. It was inspiring, but it also highlighted the constant struggle between making music and the reality of small living environments.
That’s what led me to explore how design could help bridge that gap between the physical and digital sides of music making. From that idea, my final year project, Audiomap, was born.
Research Insights
To explore opportunities for a product that could help musicians enjoy their hobby at home, I carried out a range of research activities — from interviews, surveys, and focus groups to a broader study of the home-studio market.
01
Who is suffering the most?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, 95% of drummers that I surveyed or interviewed said they struggled to practice at home, and this was mainly because of the noise and the size of their instrument.
02
What is the market looking like?
The home studio and pro studio markets now exceed $1.2 billion in combined revenue annually (2023), with a growth rate of 9.7% between the two markets.
03
What are the trends in the music industry?
Self-publishing platforms such as Spotify, SoundCloud and TikTok are driving a huge uptick in self-publishing musicians. Often producing their music at home with personal equipment.
04
Where do existing solutions fall short?
Methodology
Having identified that drummers were the most affected group when it came to practicing at home, developing a solution would require a user-focused research and design methodology to create a solution that could make an impact.
The methodologies implemented for this project consisted of the user-centred design process, as outlined by the Interaction Design Foundation
Ideation
I adopted an agile design approach through rapid ‘test–learn–refine’ cycles. Short feedback loops allowed me to validate concepts quickly and make strategic, data-driven design decisions. This involved rapid sketches and early CAD prototypes that supported interviews and surveys focused on functionality and design direction. Through this process, I arrived at a well-validated final concept ready to progress into deeper refinement and development cycles.
Design Development
Once I’d defined the core functional requirements, I moved into deeper development across the electronics, structural design, and user experience. I researched and tested the motion-tracking system, and explored MIDI integration to ensure the product could interface seamlessly with music production software.
Outcome
The project resulted in Audiomap – a compact, hardware-driven MIDI drumming system designed for silent, expressive practice and seamless home-studio integration.
Through extensive research, iterative prototyping, and technical development, I created a pair of motion-tracked drumsticks supported by an IR spatial-tracking sensor and a refined base station. The final design allows drummers to assign up to sixteen MIDI kit pieces within a mapped 3D space, capturing both velocity and natural playing cadence with far greater nuance than existing compact drumming solutions. The base station features wireless charging, assignable MIDI 2.0 controls, class-compliant connectivity, and a robust aluminium–polycarbonate construction designed for longevity and repairability. This outcome represents a fully validated design direction ready for deeper engineering refinement and future development into a manufacturable product.
