Thesis Question: How might the future of music consumption be impacted in the digital age by tech-nostalgia and the human desire to engage more authentically and deliberately with art?
Designer Bio:
Hi! My name is Dan Cohen, and I am a fifth-year industrial and interaction design student from Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to my major, I spend my free time writing and making my own music as well as being captain of the Syracuse club roller hockey team. As an athlete and musician, I am most interested in design that pertains to music and sports. I am most passionate about design research and focusing on the end-user and human-centered design.
Project Description:
I am currently in the research phase of my thesis, interviewing students and prominent designers in the music industry as well as sales representatives at large record companies, both in New York City and Los Angeles. What I have found is that many Gen-Zers experience exhaustion from the intangible nature of music streaming. While the convenience of having millions of songs at one’s fingertips is undeniable, many young people yearn for a more personal and deliberate music experience. The manual process of playing a record or CD can be an escape from the overflow of notifications, suggestions and distractions one finds while listening to Spotify or Apple Music. Listening to older music technology can allow for a simpler, stronger connection to artists and their music. While streaming will inevitably remain the most popular form of music consumption, many people are reverting back to simpler technology to get the job done. My main goal for my thesis is to redesign the portable CD player to attract Gen-Z and satisfy the desire for ownership and connection to music in the 2020s.
