Offbeat

This project focused on addressing the growing trend of solitary music consumption. With my project partner, Sam Colavecchio, I developed an innovative design system featuring two key components: the "Mobile Stage" and the "Track the Truck Map." These elements were designed to make live music more accessible and welcoming, fostering a stronger sense of community among music enthusiasts.

Concept Video

Click below to see the Offbeat concept video:

Research

Problem Space

Communities struggle to discover and support small local musicians, and local independent artists struggle to reach larger audiences.

Research objectives

With our research we aimed to learn

- How listeners find and listen to smaller, independent musicians

- How musicians find audiences and spaces to share their music

- What might keep the two groups from connecting

Phase I: Interviews

We interviewed 6 individuals; each a member of one of our two target audiences: musicians, and listeners.

We interviewed Forest and Alex from a local Pittsburgh group called rchrd prkr, and we interviewed George and Ali from a Purdue-based group called The Ironed Curtain. As for listeners, we interviewed Jenny and Zoe, two avid music listneres, who frequent live music events, and like to discover and support smaller musicians.

Phase II: Synthesizing

After the interviews, we decided to take a look at what themes were coming up again and again during the conversations. We noticed three specific areas that listeners and musicians expressed frustration with.

The rigidity of music algorithms prohibits authenticity, curiosity, and boundless exploration.

Both bands and listeners enjoy music with others both online and in person and express difficulty in finding digital and physical communities.

Bands won't use something if it's too time consuming, and listeners won't search if it's not easy to access. This limits their ability to find each other.

Phase III: Design Principles

Through the synthesis of common complaints, we were able to determine our 3 design principles (the 3 goals our design solution should achieve).

"How might we create neutral, welcoming spaces for people to perform and experience music together that supports local musicians without technology?"

Concept Ideation

As Sam and I brainstormed how we were going to design a system which achieves our design principles, we had a plethora of ideas, all of which aimed to bring together musicians, listeners, and their cities.

Component proposals included local promotion at community events, radio stations, social media/streaming platforms, postcard show tickets, a road map, and many more unconventional approaches.

Introducing Offbeat, our final design solution.

Final Concept

Offbeat is a service which takes community spaces which are underutilized in the evenings, and turns them into makeshift music venues.

Want to go to live music, but don't feel welcome at certain venues? Go to your local bookstore after hours and discover a local musician as they perform in a space that is comfortable and familiar to you.

Our design solution is composed of two main components.

Components

the Offbeat "Mobile Stage" is used to help us make the reuse of unused spaces all over the city possible and accessible.

The "Track the Truck Map" is a monthly publication promoting Offbeat events, and also acts as a ticket to these shows.

The Mobile Stage

The truck, or "Mobile Stage" is in the fashion of a food truck, used to support, set-up, and promote shows anywhere.

The truck works in two different ways:

1. Promotion

First, the truck acts as an instrument for promotion. Both of upcoming Offbeat shows but also of local musicians. This would be done in the form of merch sales, distribution of the track the truck map, and the playing of local music from speakers.

2. Show Support

Its second function is to provide support to live shows in the form of providing sound equipment, a drum kit, and set up, as well as ticket taking and merchandise sales at the venue. It acts as a “show in a box” so that all musicians have to do is show up with their instruments, and all the venues have to do is unlock their doors.

The Track the Truck Map

The map is a physical publilcation printed on a monthly basis, used to not only promote the month's Offbneat events, but also acts as a ticket to all the shows.

The map opens up to a map of your city, showing the location, date, and time of each show, as well as which group or musician is performing.

The back of the map is a keepsake poster promoting the shows of the month.

By purchasing the map, the user is purchasing a ticket to every show listed for the month. In the lower left corner of the map, is the 'passport' section, where show-goers can get stamps for entry.

Visual Identity

Sam and I immediately both had the same vision for our brand imagery. We took our inspiration from DIY music movements, specificaly punk.

We decided to use this as a foundation because movements like this stood for community, as well as was the visual identity of independent, local, and small musicians, trying to promote themselves without the help of a large record label which goes hand-in-hand with Offbeat's goals.