mikrokosmos interactive poster

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This project started at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design as part of my diploma work. It aims to reintroduce people to the unique world of classical music while targeting a problem which is that people tend to express less and less interest towards this musical genre. The poster itself doesn`t require the user to have previous musical knowledge, still, it uses basic piano structures to play Bartók songs. The design with info-graphical elements invites the general public to have a taste of playing classical music. As a designer, my mission is to preserve our culture and integrate its elements into our present using graphic design.

The poster, as on the surface seems like a simple analog medium. In fact, it is divided vertically and each bar is connected to a certain note, sound. The user, following the info-graphics, can play each note by gently pressing the surface of the poster at the right spot. By doing so the user can play and hear Bartók`s different songs. In this invisible digital world, the user can be part of the joy of playing music in a very coherent way.

Béla Bartók created the Mikrokosmos series in order to create a very smooth introduction for people who just started to play music, his first intent was to help his own son. At first, his new method seemed dividing, some contemporary musicians were very critical some thought he is a real genius. Albeit today he is noted as a classic example, part of my concept was to re-interpret his inventiveness and “way of seeing things”, into my own work.

Articulating the poster`s visuals I was about to achieve a grandiose, “cosmos-like” repercussion. The visual signal-system aims to depict constellations, which in Bartók`s world meant to encapsulate the musical notes, whereas each and every song. The graphic design helps to visualize today’s music sheets in an abstract, still more comprehensible way.

The project`s concept was born at my last semester in 2016 at MOME with the supervision of my consultant - Dora Balla. Its first prototype was built as a result of a 24/hour hackathon contest and today it`s final format was created in 2019 at Maform.

Exhibited

2020 - #Bartók 2.0 | Hungarian Cultural Institute | Sofia, Bulgaria

2019 - Hungarian Design Award Exhibition | Heritage House, Budapest, Hungary

2019 - HYBRID | Pécsi Gallery, Pécs, Hungary