© 2026 Mark Vedberg
Case Study: Accessible music-making for kids
Due to the ambiguity of the sonified data, it is not explicitly indicated whether the data is “good” or “bad.” Instead, you must actively listen, compare sounds, and draw your own conclusions, fostering a deeper, more intuitive understanding of your environment. A thriving plant produces more sound than a wilting one due to stronger bioelectrical signals. The river’s pH level influences pitch, with higher acidity producing a higher pitch, while the current determines the tempo.
Case Study: Accessible music-making for kids
Due to the ambiguity of the sonified data, it is not explicitly indicated whether the data is “good” or “bad.” Instead, you must actively listen, compare sounds, and draw your own conclusions, fostering a deeper, more intuitive understanding of your environment. A thriving plant produces more sound than a wilting one due to stronger bioelectrical signals. The river’s pH level influences pitch, with higher acidity producing a higher pitch, while the current determines the tempo.
Context
Bachelor Thesis Project at Umeå Institute of Design
Collaborator
Rumtiden Idea Lab
Timeline
10 weeks in 2025
Recognitions
↗ UX Design Award New Talent Winner 2026
People
Just me
Music creation is its own practice
Children are often introduced to music through listening, performing or learning an instrument. Creating music is a different practice: inventing melodies, rhythms, sounds, lyrics and structures rather than reproducing something that already exists. That distinction matters because access to one kind of musical activity does not automatically create access to the others.
Researching the barriers
The project was grounded in deep qualitative research into how children relate to music, creativity, hobbies, friends and their own ability to make things. The aim was not just to identify usability problems, but to understand what actually gets in the way when children first encounter music creation. That research continued throughout the project through expert input, co-creation, user testing and iteration with the same.
Researching the barriers
Laid out at the core of your trip view are the most important things to have with you; Information and your ticket. The widgets offers an exhaustive overview while the personalized message draws from all information available and is tailored to your personal trip.
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Barriers and User Experience
How What do I make?
I initially expected the main barrier to music creation to be technical: knowing how to play an instrument, understand music theory, or use complex software. Those barriers matter, but they were not the main problem I found. Even with simple tools, children can still struggle with what to actually make. Starting from nothing can feel intimidating, especially when the music they know is highly polished and professional. The problem is not only being able to make music, but knowing how to begin without already having an idea or clear direction.
How What do I make?
Laid out at the core of your trip view are the most important things to have with you; Information and your ticket. The widgets offers an exhaustive overview while the personalized message draws from all information available and is tailored to your personal trip.
The Artist in His Studio by Rembrandt (c. 1628)
Creating together generates inspiration and direction while sharing the pressure of coming up with ideas. Children wanted to make music with others, but lacked tools for genuine co-creation. Opus therefore uses the board game as a democratic interface: one shared surface, equally visible and accessible to everyone.
Finding direction together
Creating together generates inspiration and direction while sharing the pressure of coming up with ideas. Children wanted to make music with others, but lacked tools for genuine co-creation. Opus therefore uses the board game as a democratic interface: one shared surface, equally visible and accessible to everyone.
Finding direction together
Starting without a clear structure can make music-making feel too open-ended: there are tools available, but no clear sense of what to do with them. Paper templates solve this by defining the rules, roles and behaviour of each session. Because different templates work in fundamentally different ways, they also offer different ways of making music, from straightforward sequencing to more playful, game-like formats.
Setting the rules
Starting without a clear structure can make music-making feel too open-ended: there are tools available, but no clear sense of what to do with them. Paper templates solve this by defining the rules, roles and behaviour of each session. Because different templates work in fundamentally different ways, they also offer different ways of making music, from straightforward sequencing to more playful, game-like formats.
Setting the rules
Having to make something deliberately from the start creates pressure, especially when the reference point is polished, professional music. Each new project therefore begins with randomly assigned loops hidden inside the pieces. Instead of composing immediately, users first explore: trying sounds, combining them, and reacting to what they find. Direction can emerge from discovery rather than needing to exist beforehand.
Playful Exploration
Having to make something deliberately from the start creates pressure, especially when the reference point is polished, professional music. Each new project therefore begins with randomly assigned loops hidden inside the pieces. Instead of composing immediately, users first explore: trying sounds, combining them, and reacting to what they find. Direction can emerge from discovery rather than needing to exist beforehand.
Playful Exploration
Once a direction starts to emerge, random discovery is no longer enough. Users need to be able to act on what they like and shape the music more deliberately. Loops can be replaced, regenerated, saved and revisited. Previously discovered sounds stay available, and the composition itself can be rearranged, sped up, slowed down or moved into a different template.
Taking control
Once a direction starts to emerge, random discovery is no longer enough. Users need to be able to act on what they like and shape the music more deliberately. Loops can be replaced, regenerated, saved and revisited. Previously discovered sounds stay available, and the composition itself can be rearranged, sped up, slowed down or moved into a different template.
Taking control
Simple tools can become dead ends
I initially expected the main barrier to music creation to be technical: knowing how to play an instrument, understand music theory, or use complex software. Those barriers matter, but they were not the main problem I found. Even with simple tools, children can still struggle with what to actually make. Starting from nothing can feel intimidating, especially when the music they know is highly polished and professional. The problem is not only being able to make music, but knowing how to begin without already having an idea or clear direction.
Simple tools can become dead ends
I initially expected the main barrier to music creation to be technical: knowing how to play an instrument, understand music theory, or use complex software. Those barriers matter, but the research pointed to something more fundamental. Even with accessible tools, children still need a reason to begin, something to respond to, and some sense of direction. A blank page can be just as intimidating as a complicated interface.
Musicians Returning in the Early Morning through Snowed Landscape by Jozef Teodor Mousson
Beginner tools often stay simple by limiting what users can actually make. To support progression, Opus introduces Loop Stations: phone-based tools for creating original beats, melodies, recordings and sounds. These creations can be uploaded to a physical piece and used on the board alongside the pre-made loops. This adds musical depth without separating more experienced users from beginners, since everyone can still contribute to the same shared composition.
Going deeper with Loop Stations
Beginner tools often stay simple by limiting what users can actually make. To support progression, Opus introduces Loop Stations: phone-based tools for creating original beats, melodies, recordings and sounds. These creations can be uploaded to a physical piece and used on the board alongside the pre-made loops. This adds musical depth without separating more experienced users from beginners, since everyone can still contribute to the same shared composition.
Going deeper with Loop Stations
Progression should not only happen through tools built into Opus. Existing ways of making music should be able to enter the same shared composition. Vocals, instruments, recordings or audio made in other software can be recorded or imported, then uploaded to a piece and used on the board like any other loop.
Bringing outside music-making in
Progression should not only happen through tools built into Opus. Existing ways of making music should be able to enter the same shared composition. Vocals, instruments, recordings or audio made in other software can be recorded or imported, then uploaded to a piece and used on the board like any other loop.
Bringing outside music-making in
Beginner tools often become dead ends because starting somewhere new means starting over. Opus lets users export either the finished song or separate stems, so the work can continue in other music software. The next step begins with something already made, rather than another blank page.
Moving on to other tools
Beginner tools often become dead ends because starting somewhere new means starting over. Opus lets users export either the finished song or separate stems, so the work can continue in other music software. The next step begins with something already made, rather than another blank page.
Moving on to other tools
Sustainability and Accessability
Sustainable and accessable from the start
A physical product intended for children and schools has to be responsible beyond the experience of using it. Sustainability means taking responsibility for the material and technological footprint of something that could be produced at scale. Accessibility also means more than making music easy to approach: the system itself has to be realistically available, affordable and usable in the environments it is designed for. These concerns shaped Opus from the beginning, leading to a low-tech, open and adaptable approach.
Gathering Flowers, Shinnecock, Long Island (1897) by William Merritt Chase
Smartphones already contain most of the expensive, resource-intensive hardware Opus would otherwise need to reproduce: high-resolution screens, processors, batteries, storage, microphones, speakers and wireless connectivity. Rather than building these into the product again, Opus keeps its own hardware simple and temporarily borrows that existing capability. This reduces both material use and cost without reducing functionality.
Using hardware that already exists
Smartphones already contain most of the expensive, resource-intensive hardware Opus would otherwise need to reproduce: high-resolution screens, processors, batteries, storage, microphones, speakers and wireless connectivity. Rather than building these into the product again, Opus keeps its own hardware simple and temporarily borrows that existing capability. This reduces both material use and cost without reducing functionality.
Using hardware that already exists
Using phones only works if they do not become the centre of the experience. In Opus, the phone becomes an interface only when placed in a designated position, effectively lending its screen and processing power to the system. Core musical actions remain physical and shared, while the phone is reserved for tasks that benefit from a screen, such as browsing, saving, loading and uploading. Only one phone is needed for a group, so participation does not depend on every child owning a device.
Using phones only works if they do not become the centre of the experience. In Opus, the phone becomes an interface only when placed in a designated position, effectively lending its screen and processing power to the system. Core musical actions remain physical and shared, while the phone is reserved for tasks that benefit from a screen, such as browsing, saving, loading and uploading. Only one phone is needed for a group, so participation does not depend on every child owning a device.
Modularity does not have to mean adding more electronics. Instead of interchangeable technical modules, Opus keeps the board itself fixed and moves variation into paper templates and software. This keeps the hardware simpler, cheaper and easier to maintain, while still allowing the system to change radically depending on the template in use.
Replacing hardware with paper
Modularity does not have to mean adding more electronics. Instead of interchangeable technical modules, Opus keeps the board itself fixed and moves variation into paper templates and software. This keeps the hardware simpler, cheaper and easier to maintain, while still allowing the system to change radically depending on the template in use.
Replacing hardware with paper
Because Opus stores variation in paper and software, the same hardware can keep expanding through new templates, loop libraries and Loop Station tools. Making those layers open source means that expansion is not limited to official updates. Users, schools and communities can also create, adapt and share their own content, allowing the system to grow without requiring new hardware.
Growing through software and community
Because Opus stores variation in paper and software, the same hardware can keep expanding through new templates, loop libraries and Loop Station tools. Making those layers open source means that expansion is not limited to official updates. Users, schools and communities can also create, adapt and share their own content, allowing the system to grow without requiring new hardware.
Growing through software and community
Open source also gives users real ownership over the system. Opus is not dependent on ongoing subscriptions, locked software or the company continuing to support it. That matters especially for schools: buying the system means actually owning something that can be maintained, adapted and kept in use over time. Simple hardware and open software also make repair and future compatibility more realistic.
Open source also gives users real ownership over the system. Opus is not dependent on ongoing subscriptions, locked software or the company continuing to support it. That matters especially for schools: buying the system means actually owning something that can be maintained, adapted and kept in use over time. Simple hardware and open software also make repair and future compatibility more realistic.
Reflections
In our bachelor's thesis, we addressed the question of how local communities can benefit from the expansion of renewable energies. For this purpose, we developed a digital platform for energy communities, with which citizens can promote regional expansion of renewable energies quickly and easily. Members of these communities can use the new.
