A practical research project to ensure the relevance of grassroots live music experiences.
Experience Designer & Researcher June 2021 - December 2021
Context
To combine my interest and practice in live music with my design studies in 2021, I researched about live music experiences for my graduation project.
Bring Me The Horizon at Zénith Paris (2018) by Sebastian Ervi
STEP 1
Gaining a clear understanding of the music industry in 2021.
DYI concert organised during COVID restrictions for research
Analysing concerts
Over 10 concerts were documented and 30 interviews of music fans, artists and venue staff conducted to better understand specificities of live music experiences across types of venues, events and genres.
Research methods: On-site behavioural observations + interviews
Analysis of Yungblud's concert at Alexandra Palace London (2021)
Speculative design workshop
To better know what should be designed, we invited music industry stakeholders to discuss what future concerts might look like, and if these speculated concerts are preferable or not. The workshop was inspired by speculative design practices and led us to discuss about inclusion and innovative technologies.
Research methods: Speculative design workshop
Workshop conducted with Miro during COVID restrictions
Reading… a lot
Alex and I initially thought about helping geographically marginalised people to better access live music experiences. But researching about the live music industry led us to understand how this kind of project could further harm smaller actors in the music ecology.
Research methods: Literature review
Mapping of literature review on live music experiences
Result 1
Grassroots music venues in London have been increasingly closing down due to strict regulations, a lack of funding and a fall in attendance.
Result 2
Our research revealed a lack of social and emotional connection between unestablished artists and their audiences in grassroots music venues, which is an increasingly important factor for concert attendants.
Jaguar Shoes: an example of grassroots music venue we analysed
STEP 2
As a way to ensure the relevance of small grassroots concerts, how can we foster connection between unestablished musicians and their audiences?
Experiment trialed and measured of participants playing with balloons at a self-organised concert
Getting hands-on with stakeholders about connection at concerts
Leading a focus group and a generative workshop, we invited different stakeholders to think about how connection is created at concerts and how it could be fostered in small music venues.
Research methods: Focus Group + Generative Workshop
Workshop organised with music stakeholders
Trying out ideas at a small DYI concert
Due to time restrictions, we needed to quickly test simple ideas, which we did in the form of measured experiments at a self-organised concert.
Research methods: Generative Research through Design Prototyping
Experiment trialed and measured of participants holding hands in circle
Result
We identified opportunities to facilitate connection by:
1. Organising collective activities (warm-ups, building space, singing together etc.) 2. Flattening space dynamics (no barrier, same level) 3. Using personal stories (storytelling practices) 4. Teaching lyrics of songs
STEP 3
Making the design.
Bittersuite: A company that inspired our project in the first place by designing sensory concert experiences
First drafts of ideas
Many different design opportunities emerged, including a modular furniture toolkit for venues, placemaking for local urbanism and sensory technologies.
Research method: Crazy 8 Ideation + Storyboarding
Storyboard of our modular furniture system idea
Prototype: A ritual-inspired participatory activity
We decided to start off with designing an intimate, communal experience that makes artists' warm-up ritual participatory, by engaging audiences through exercises, stories and objects before, during and after a concert performance.
Research method: Prototyping & Testing
Our first prototype with a string used to physically connect everyone together
Final design: A fully designed workshop for musicians
Through testing and iteration, our early prototypes evolved into a workshop that allows to co-design unique concert experiences with grassroots musicians through the collective exploration of:
1. Participatory artist-audience activities 2. Space dynamics 3. Storytelling practices
This workshop was the perfect balance between time restrictions, hands-on design, testability and real impact.
Screenshot of the video showcasing our fully designed workshop
Results
The workshop conducted with 3 artists was followed by a self-organised public concert in London. The process was documented in the form of a video explaining the project, showing the workshop's outcomes in a real-life setting and feedback from our collaborating artists. The project has proven to be useful to the participating artists and been presented at the IMX 2022 conference.
Video showcasing our fully designed workshop
MELÓ “This brought me new perspectives on performance. I learnt a lot about good ways to connect with my audiences that I wouldn’t have thought of (without this workshop)”
Serena Kaos “I’ve been performing for 7 years. Everyone can perform, but coming up with special ways to bond with audiences is so much better. I wouldn’t have thought of that without this workshop. It was life-changing!”
Kelly Erez “I’ve thought of getting more interactive with audiences and this (workshop) allowed me to do it! I’m grateful for this opportunity.”
Credits
MA User Experience Design: Alex Newson MA User Experience Design: Sebastian Ervi
And next?
Sebastian is interested in designing more experiences for public spaces and communities within the realm of urbanism, art and live performance.
You can connect with Sebastian on LinkedIn or get in touch with him directly by e-mail.
