Beat Rockers
Beat Global was a nonprofit that develops inclusive, accessible arts education rooted in Hip Hop culture.
Their Beat Rockers program combined clinical research with music theory to teach beatboxing as a method for achieving speech therapy goals.
They had achieved unprecedented success in the NYC school system, and wanted to explore scaling their impact by designing a self-service beatboxing app that helps people practice independently.
Before they could begin developing the app in earnest, they needed to establish a foundational product strategy guided by user research, market analysis, and an internal capacity audit.
We facilitated a value proposition effort, conducted preliminary research, and set up a build/test/learn prototyping cycle. Through this exploratory sprint, we were able to design a proof of concept which Beat Global could use to raise seed funding and partner interest.
(Prototype of a dynamic learning platform menu for the beatboxing app)
We began our qualitative research with immersion into their practice. When we sat in on classes at Lavelle School for the Blind, it was easy to see why the Beat Rockers program was having profound success connecting with students. At Lavelle, classes were composed of students managing a broad range of cognitive disabilities and communications challenges.
We interviewed their academic partners and clinical researchers whose data also pointed to the benefits of the curriculum, teaching styles, and mechanics explored through the expression of beatboxing. Independent research validated that practicing beatboxing techniques directly correlates with improved speech therapy results.
As we explored the viability of an app, we leveraged the cultural power of Hip Hop to expand the reach to a broader audience.
(Mobile app frames illustrate the emphasized letter sounds clinically referred to as phonemes.)
We co-designed our prototypes with the Beat Rockers team and recorded some demo lessons which we could test for both usability and content strategy.
Our rapid design cycle produced animated prototypes and early round brand strategy. We explored various aural and visual heuristics from bouncing balls to mouth formations. And we created mood boards of design precedent and inspirations so that we could articulate our ideas with Beat Rockers’ leaders, and our own team as well.
(Instructor and artist, “Bee Ess”, Recording curriculum for our prototype)
Ultimately, we delivered dynamic presentation content and provided pitch consultation.
Communicating the early proof of concept helped Beat International win the VELA Education Fund and Camelback Ventures competition and receive funding to develop their product. This led to the launch of Alphabeat.
Jeff Ong
Jenna Carpenter
Prag Anand
Ulrik Hoegrebe
J Reuben
Denice King
John Leonard
Wipawe Sirikolkarn
Irisa Ona
Lynda Lucas
Andrew Cramer
Mo Mullins
Wen Fung
Jo Tran
Albert Dang
Shiman Shan
Joylyn Yang
Dean Dijour
James Kim
Brittany Wilson
Bee Ess
Arabelle Luke
Kristine Lin
Collaborators
(The practice module combines the letter repetition with the grounding connection to words.)
When we talk, remind me to tell you about…
Boots n’ Cats
Design Research
Clinical Research
Practice Puts Brains In Your Mouth™