MORE: FLUX
See the project video below
Researching the target group & Design
After long brainstorming sessions, we decided on the project topic. From that, extensive research had to be carried out. Firstly - and by performing an ethnographic study - we dived into the culture of electric guitar players. We wanted to understand them and their needs. We conducted numerous interviews and observations. Many guitarists expressed the need for new pedal designs to be more intuitive too and natural in control. They wanted something small and easy to transport. Since most guitar players perform on stage, they wanted a pedal design that can be entirely foot-operated and emits light. Therefore, a pedal with a screen would be appreciated. Moreover, when presented with our initial hand-drawn design ideas, they very much liked the omnidirectional joystick. As for this project, the pedal would be designed for rock guitar players that are relatively open-minded and have at least 5 years of playing experience.
Making the pedal
After agreeing on the final design, we started building and programming the device. The whole pedal box was designed by us and made using a laser cutting technique. The central joystick and buttons were 3D printed, previously designed by me. The basis of the analogue joystick in the pedal was made by using a flight joystick. The pedal runs on B.E.L.A micro sound controller. It was programmed using PuteData. Code consists of multiple patches that apply different sound effects to the guitar and change effects’ parameters. An LCD display was planned to be included, but it was scrapped due to the time and resources limitations. We went on with a Wizard of Oz technique.
First design idea for the pedal
The very first design idea for the joystick
The lo-fi prototype of the pedal
Evaluating the design
Along with building the product, we were developing the test procedure. This test was designed with the data triangulation technique in mind - Microsoft Reaction Cards, interviews and quantitative survey. The study is an A/B test between H9 pedal and FLUX. Each participant performed a set of tasks both on FLUX and H9 and then evaluated each.
The results showed that users found FLUX to be less cumbersome than H9. Guitarists liked the omnidirectional foot-operated joystick as the main mean of control. Moreover, the called FLUX straightforward and intuitive. The System Usability Scale score was much higher for FLUX (75.2) than for H9 (52.6).
This data shows a future for new multi-effect pedal designs. Innovation, even if not executed correctly, is welcome.
