2020 - 2021
While the concept of Autotune has been around for a significant amount of time, not a single developer has successfully made notable or significant user workflow innovations. How could we innovate on a music production standard that’s been recreated dozens of times for over 2 decades? I led UX design and a multidisciplinary team to discover and design innovative workflow opportunities and feedback loops that focus on usability regardless of music theory or production knowledge.
My Role
Responsible for user research, feature design, user experience, prototyping, discovery, ideation, interaction design, product branding, web design
Team
Jordan, Co-Creative Director
Chris, Production
Thanos, Product
Daniel, Visual Design / 3D
Slate Digital's transition to a subscription-based model necessitated frequent product releases to attract new users, retain the existing user base, and support Slate Academy, their educational platform. Our goal was to create a distinctive plugin with unique features that would facilitate ease of teaching and usage, while simultaneously establishing a strong market presence and meeting the needs of the current user base.
I led competitive research of Antares’ Autotune and its most successful competitor to hit the market within the 10 years. I also included other vocal effect plugins to understand what innovation were happening within the product space in general. We noted features, workflow improvements, visualizations, accessibility, ease of use for novices, and UI design for over 15 products culminating in very thorough report that was shared within the design team through internal team presentations. We reviewed our findings, noting where several competitor products had similar friction points for users and where workflow improvements could be iterated on.
A Few Noted Friction Points
Following feature refinement, I led wire framing for the plugin. We explored diverse feature placements, balancing form and layout intricacies within the GUI. Our aim was to maintain digital signal processing (DSP) control hierarchy and signal flow while ensuring visual distinctiveness. Above all, we prioritized navigational intuitiveness. We conducted over 50 layout experiments before landing on the final iteration.
Following feature refinement, I led wire framing for the plugin. We explored diverse feature placements, balancing form and layout intricacies within the GUI. Our aim was to maintain digital signal processing (DSP) control hierarchy and signal flow while ensuring visual distinctiveness. Above all, we prioritized navigational intuitiveness. We conducted over 50 layout experiments before landing on the final iteration.
”Meta” is simplified by removing the inner hard-cut corners of the negative space (inside each letter) and replacing them with equal curves. We are still using the same stylistic motif. We’ve also simplified “Tune” to make it clearly ledgible and utilizied the main label and body typeface implemented in the GUI — Roboto.
Iconic logo is updated to M/T monogram where the T forms the middle of the M. We can emphasize this with color moving foward (insteda of shades of grey). We also include the lightning bolt as a reference to Speed.
This is a new iteration taking the “meta” from v3.2 and the adjusted “Tune” from v3.3 to provide a middle ground between the two.
Iconic logo is another iteration of the logo from the v3.1. Here, we’ve shifted the location of the lightning bolt to feel more integrated.
The slope of the ‘T’ is straightened and the tail of it has been disconnected from ‘une’ for further clarity.
We’ve change the iconic representation of this logo to have emphasis on the ‘T’ for tune and added brackets to represent the GUI itself with the ‘T’ acting as the divider found in the GUI itself.
V2.3
Inspired by the curvature in between the visualizer display and the knobs found in the GUI. This same curve is purposed on the “Chromatic” button that sits beneath the scale menu. ”Meta” is now a slightly thinner weight, resulting in a more subtle emphasis of “Tune”.
The letter ‘t’ in ‘Meta’ has been made lowercase to improve readability. An alternative of V2.1 where the typeface used for ‘meta’ is inspired by the numbers found on the GUI knobs and is made up of both round and angular points, reflecting the shapes found throughout the GUI.
MetaTune was released in Fall of 2021 receiving rave reviews for it’s intuitive graphic interface, calling it “super-easy to use” and having UX features that are a “nice touch”. Subscriptions and customer acquisitions saw a dramatic spike in the weeks following the release.
Reviews
Sound On Sound
GearSpace
MetaTune was a crucial part of Slate Digital's deliberate strategy to engage younger producers. In my role as Creative Director, I viewed MetaTune as a unique opportunity not only to enhance an already legendary utility but also to resonate with modern producers by highlighting the creative potential of automatic tuners.
Among the various project elements, the visualizer was particularly exciting to work on. We recognized that setting MetaTune apart would require more than just improving workflows; it would involve creating a strong emotional connection with our audience. Our objective was to focus on something that would inspire and captivate users, aligning with the creative and cool essence of the music they aimed to produce.
MetaTune was one giant professional and life lesson where I gained valuable insights into team dynamics. Our development team, primarily located in France (including the CTO I directly reported to), outnumbered our Los Angeles-based UX/UI team 5/1. This unique setup led to a specific feedback and development cycle. My team and I would iterate, prototype, and meticulously document our UX and UI advancements before passing them on for review and development. The importance of precise documentation became evident, as any questions, concerns, or comments could potentially disrupt the French development team's work — potentially losing days of working hour. This experience sharpened my communication skills with top developers and stakeholders.
This situation also emphasized the critical aspect of effective documentation management and communication. Shortly after assuming the role of Creative Director, I introduced Figma to both our UX and development teams, revolutionizing our collaborative efforts and significantly improving project efficiency within MetaTune.