BackDrop Tunes
CATEGORY
Interaction Design · Physical Computing · Product Experience
ROLE
Ideation and concept development, programming, and circuit design
TOOLS
Arduino, Hermes, Codex & Figma
CONTEXT
Student Group Project - Politecnico di Milano
BackDrop Tunes is a modular kitchen audio surface inspired by backsplash tiles.
The problem
Cooking makes normal audio control awkward. The problem is not listening itself. It is divided attention, unavailable hands, and a soundscape that changes while the task is already in motion.
The goal
Design a kitchen radio that users can operate effortlessly while cooking, using intuitive guidance, ambient interaction, and minimal attention.
Understanding the User
Pain Points
Journey Map
Main Proto Persona
Concept Evolution — From Sketch to Prototype
User Testing
Key Takeaways
Integrating technology into the environment reduced visual noise, but hiding controls made state legibility more difficult.
A next iteration would test the gesture-first timer, clearer active-state feedback, and the end alert with more participants in a real kitchen.
