Chune
Chüne is a playful social music service that intelligently curates playlists depending on who is around, and how much fun they’re having.
Tap your phone on the top of Chüne to add your taste to the playlist. If this is the first time you are using Chüne you will be asked to select what types of music you like (more about that below). If you've used Chüne before you have probably realized the potential of this little cheerful box and downloaded the app. Since you have the app all you have to do is to tap your phone on the top and you’re done. The app keeps track of what you like to listen to and lets Chüne know..
Drag and drop your taste on to the logo in the centre. As you drop a taste on the Chüne icon more precise categories appear, so you can be as precise or loose as you want.
A party out of control might be fun, but music without control? The controls on the Chüne are:
Volume - so that you can turn it up when the neighbors come knocking.
Vibe - because a Thursday hangout is not the same as a 3am rave.
Skip - needs no explanation or justification.
A party isn't the same at 8pm and 2am, and neither is your taste in music. The Vibe knob lets you adjust the music to fit the current vibe. When you crank up the Vibe the selection algorithm changes and the type of songs Chüne selects is altered, it's still the same, socially selected genres, but chosen to match the changing mood of your gathering.
We started mapping out digital behaviors, digital devices, input methods and so on to broaden our understanding of the brief.
After the initial mapping was done we set our selves a challenge to come up with at least 20 concepts a day for five days. This resulted in 120 concepts to further develop.
We managed to get the concept-count down to six. We then spent two days working up two concepts each. These concepts where presented to the team at Clearleft who voted for which concept the wanted to see developed further.
Social radio was the working title of the concept the team voted for. We now began expanding on the initial ideas of this concept, trying to flush out all the different angles we could approach the main idea.
At this stage we started working on the appearance of the product through moodboards and quick sketches and renderings.
We also defined the product in words, writing the strapline or elevator pitch.
The prototyped was designed in 3D software and then sent off for lasercutting. The resulting model required many hours of sanding, filling and painting to reach a good finish.
While the prototype was finished we also assembled the inside with all of its components and wirings.
The finished prototype with its "guts" exposed
At the heart of Chüne is a Raspberry-Pi equipped with a WiFi/Bluetooth LE dongle. The Pi is also connected to a NFC reader, LED display and a amplifier (which is of course in turn connected to a speaker).
1. 8x8 LED matrix display
2. NFC breakout board
3. Speaker
4. Amplifier
5. Raspberry-Pi with WiFi & Bluetooth LE
Creative Technologist
Communication Designer
Industrial Designer
Our previous experiences of internships revealed that –whilst valuable– they’re largely a one-way process with interns typically learning from a more experienced peer. This year we decided to try something different.
We hoped that by curating a diverse team of talented individuals, each with different specialisms and then mentoring them through a single project that was different from our day-to-day client work, that the process would produce interesting results for everyone involved.
It paid off. Not only did it generate considerable excitement throughout the office that engaged the whole team. But the approaches, outputs and unique skills the interns brought to the solution have filtered back into the team.
