BackDrop Tunes
CATEGORY
Interaction Design · Physical Computing · Product Experience
MY ROLE
Research synthesis · Interaction concept · User testing · Programming · Circuit construction
TOOLS
Arduino, Hermes, Codex & Figma
CONTEXT
Student group project at Politecnico di Milano
TEAM
Tamiris Ferreira · Aleksandra Aganesova · Dora Yıldız · Magdalena Escobar
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.
Research framing
The initial framing came from object analysis, radio benchmarking,cooking-context mapping, and team synthesis. The proto-persona and journey were working models rather than results from participant interviews.
Pain Points
Journey Map
Main Proto Persona
Concept Evolution — From Sketch to Prototype
User Testing
I ran three moderated sessions of 5–10 minutes using an early physical prototype, with some behaviour simulated. In a cooking scenario, participants were asked to recognise the product, activate it, control the audio, and add a timer. The test focused on recognition, reveal cues, task clarity, and interaction with wet or dirty hands.
Key Takeaways
With three participants, this was an exploratory test rather than broad validation. It identified three priorities for the next iteration: cleareractive-state feedback, a simpler timer setup, and a beep-plus-blinking end alert. The revised interaction should then be tested in a real kitchen.
