THE FOUR FACETS OF KODA
If there's one thing we know, it's that kids (and most of us for that matter) love to play a whole lot more than they love to learn. With this playful spirit in mind, we were inspired by our younger weekends exploring the science museum and recesses spent on the playground, and set out to create physical stations and interactions that were engaging, elegant, and fun.
Chord Progression
CHORD SLIDERS
Control the chords played during each measure by adjusting large-scale sliders.
L.E.D.s
An LED array next to each slider indicates which of seven chord choices is selected.
Rhythm
RHYTHM PADS
Fill in the percussion track with your hands on soft, touch-sensitive pads.
L.E.D.s
An LED sequence keeps track of the beat so you can stay in sync.
Melody
MELODY PIPES
Play melody lines by touching metal rods tuned to notes that always sound good.
L.E.D.s
LEDs illuminate the pipes on contact for added visual feedback.
Dynamics
DYNAMICS WHEEL
Raise or lower the volume of the song by turning a large wheel.
L.E.D.s
A strip of LEDs shine in relation to the audio levels.
READ THE FULL STORY
Download the full KODA documentation to learn about our concept, research, design iteration, technologies, and more.
VISUALIZING THE MUSIC
In addition to being beautiful, we wanted our visual elements to reflect the musical concepts that they were representing. Each musical "particle" behaves differently.
A NUMBER OF NOTES
The shape of chord particles correspond to the number of notes in the selected chord.
Major and minor triads will spawn triangle particles while more complex jazz chords, like 7ths or 9ths will spawn diamonds or pentagons.
THE MOMENTUM
Rhythm particles pulse along with the beat of the song, altering the movement of nearby particles.
MELODIC PHRASES
An uninterrupted stream of notes keeps melody particles connected in a strand, maintaining the shape of a melodic phrase.
BREATHING LIFE
The dynamics particles affect all the other particles on screen by scattering them outward or pulling them in, based on the volume adjustment.
FOLLOW OUR PROGRESS
Read along in our blog as we describe each step in our production process from conception to exhibition.
SANDBOX SONGS
Writing the music for Koda was a balancing act between allowing enough freedom to experiment with the musical elements and retaining enough structure to still keep it harmonious. By organizing our music into distinct genres, we built the musical structure around defining characteristics of each genre.
Electric guitar and bass instrumentation
Straight rock rhythm for percussion
Pentatonic scale for melody
Power chord harmonies
Piano and acoustic guitar instrumentation
Shuffle rhythm for chords and percussion
Blues scale for melody
Dominant seventh chord harmonies
Upright bass and saxophone instrumentation
Charleston rhythm and walking bassline
Whole-note scale for melody
Extended chord harmonies
Wah guitar, horns, and djembe instrumentation
Ska rhythm on 2 & 4 for chords
Pentatonic scale for melody
Triad chord harmonies
THE KODA TEAM
Visual designers, industrial designers, developers, musicians, and leaders. Meet the people behind the Koda experience.
BEN BOOZER
Development LeadBRYAN FIELD
DeveloperKYLE SHETH
Physical Lead, Design EngineerJOSH NORDEEN
Lead Designer, ComposerJON BRENNAN
Project Manager, TechnologistDREW HANSEN
Digital Lead, Motion ArtistCOLE DUBORD
Designer, DraftsmanPHOENIX WALTER
DesignerMIN CHI
DesignerSPECIAL THANKS
We would like to thank our sponsors for their generous donations of supplies and funding, which all helped make Koda possible.
We would also like to thank everyone who contributed their time, talents and ideas to help us realize our vision.
- ADAM SMITH
- DR. CHRISTOPHER AZZARA
- JOE PIETRUCH
- JON BARBER
- LAUREN COMES
- NANCY DOUBLEDAY
- MIGUEL CARDONA
- KIM SHERMAN
- CLAIRE BRITT
- MALIKA BUTLER