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Perception
Coloring Classical music
Tools
Adobe XD
Project Duration
Ongoing
Personal Project
Topic of Interest
Classical music
Problem
Classical music is unappreciated and dying in today's society
Research
I conducted secondary research on the current state of classical music and how it is perceived in society, looking into how we connect with it as human beings.
People don't value Classical music
“it really boils down to one reason: [Classical Music is] just plain boring to them.
[People] also want their music fast. They also have attention spans of about three minutes, far too short for a four-movement sonata but perfect for that new pop tune."
-Jason Heath, President of the American String Teacher’s Association
We connect emotionally with Classical music
[Empathetic engagement is] the ability to interpret our own mental and emotional state, as well as that of others.
Empathetic Engagement is considered a crucial element for artistic appreciation, especially in the music domain. A listener must...connect with the emotions the composer is trying to convey."
-Tom Jacobs, veteran journalist
Classical music is ineffectively
presented
“Americans are writing, playing, recording and listening to more orchestra music today than they ever have before in history — mostly in the form of film music and video game soundtracks. So we know they like the general sound."
[People] just don’t like listening to it [Classical music] with us, at concert halls.
-Richard Dare, Brooklyn Philharmonic CEO
There is a Lack of Committed Listeners
“Yes, orchestra subscriptions are on a downward trend, worldwide. And, yes, classical music concert attendance saw a 34 per cent decline...Classical music may be facing an existential crisis as the world changes around us.”
-MIRANDA ILCHEF, professional violinist
Goal
Positively impact people’s perception of classical music by encouraging them to emotionally connect with the music and gain a deeper appreciation of the value of classical music.
Target Audience
Individuals between the ages of 13-50 who do NOT listen to Classical music or want to improve their listening skills.
Brainstorming
With my goal in mind from my research I started brainstorming for possible ways to solve the problem. Below are some initial ideas for website designs.
Website Interface Sketches
After brainstorming about the content of the website I would build, I then sketched out how the content would be organized and presented on the page.
I wanted to create a story with my pages, starting with introducing the visitor to classical music then moving to learning more about it on the following pages. Each page gives the visitor a reason to appreciate classical music.
The final page focuses on the emotions color evokes and allows the visitor to feel how those emotions relate to the music of classical composers.
The page titles I chose were important in establishing the hierarchy of the site and letting the visitor know the content of each page. I continually experimented with shorter page titles as I progressed with the project.
Process Video
In order to explore the visual imagery around the "Choose a color" page, I created moodboards out of images, color swatches and words. I randomly chose the images, colors and words used to create the moodboard.
I did the following activity in the video for each of the pieces I had chosen. The video shows an example of the moodboard for a Spanish Dance by Enrique Granados, a classical composer.
Solution
I created a fun and interactive website that feels fresh and inviting and forms a positive perception of classical music. The site encourages visitors to grow and excel in their classical music journey. I wanted to provide the opportunity to hear excerpts of classical piano music that I personally played and recorded.
Website Video
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