Question:
How can a website push the envelope on sound design? What moods can be achieved through site and sound?
- Flash
- Streaming Media
- PHP
Back Story:
Cryogenik music production is as unique as its name. The man behind the music, Tim Reagan, needed a site that would showcase his atmospheric, esoteric style and break new ground in sound design. An e-commerce store was also needed, allowing users to purchase music through the site.
Answer:
Blend Studios created an organic design incorporating sliding masks, natural sound effects such as rain & thunder, and stylistic transitions. All this came together into a site that is explored more than viewed, with new surprises behind each link.
Execution:
The sliding mask on the site serves not only to reveal the color of the flower, but also as an immediate metaphor that there is more beneath the surface of the music, more beneath the surface of the site, waiting to be discovered.
The sound mixer, an innovative approach to interactive web design, was built to allow users to mix there own beats, using samples from drums, guitar, distortion, etc.
The large library of music was made navigable by allowing the user to create a custom CD. Filling this CD with tracks sampled from the site, perfecting the order and creating the product that they want increased sales by giving the buyer control and encouraged the user to listen to more tracks than if a static CD was offered.
Result:
Tim received excellent feedback on the site. Many visitors enjoyed the beats and control of the sound mixer so much they would keep it playing in the background while they read the news, checked email and surfed other sites.
The custom CD creation was a unique approach to sales and proved to be a successful one, showing Cryogenik a nice return over time.
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