Workshop: Inclusive Design within Audio Products
What, Why, How?
This workshop will build on the successes of last year’s 'Introduction to Inclusive Design of Audio Products' session. We will focus on providing practical design principles for attendees to take away, backed up by engaging lived experience insights and demonstrations.
We will also take an in-depth look at how Ableton and Arcana are ensuring accessibility within the development of their products.
Panellists
- Chair - Jay Pocknell (RNIB / Sound Without Sight)
- Tim Yates (Drake Music)
- Musician / Accessibility Consultant: Elizabeth J. Birch
- Musician / Accessibility Consultant: Andre Louis
- Adi Dickens (Ableton)
- Haim Kairy (Arcana)
Outline
- Introductions from all panellists. 10 mins.
- Overview of the social model of disability. 10 mins.
- Why design inclusively? The importance of accessibility in mainstream audio technology. 10 mins.
- Best practice guidelines. Top 5 inclusive design principles for music-making and audio products. 40 mins.
- Led by Tim.
- Lived experience insights from Elizabeth, Andre, and Jay.
- Developer experience from Adi and Haim.
- Spotlight inclusively designed products: finalists from MIDI Innovation Awards (e.g. Audio Modelling UniMIDI Hub etc.), plus examples from the two companies on the panel, and ADC sponsors.
[Break. 10 mins.]
- Case study – Developing with the community: what Ableton have learnt since investing in accessibility and connecting with their user community during the development of Live 12, Note, and Move. Adi and Andre. 30 mins.
- Case study – From the ground up: how Arcana built a company around inclusive design and developed their first instrument, the Arcana Strum, for all. Haim. 30 mins.
- Panel Q&A. All panellists. 30 mins.
- Call to action. How to learn more, further resources to explore. 5 mins.
Jay Pocknell
Music Support Officer
RNIB
Jay is a mixing and mastering engineer, producer, and guitarist. He is also partially sighted, making him a prime contact for matters relating to music and visual accessibility.
He is Music Support Officer at RNIB - the Royal National Institute of Blind People - where he is tasked with improving access to music-making for blind and partially sighted people, including advocating for improved accessibility within music and audio hardware and software.
Jay is the also the founder and Project Manager of Sound Without Sight, a community-driven online hub that connects blind and partially sighted musicians to each other, and to resources, opportunities, and support.
Jay is a graduate of the Music and Sound Recording (Tonmeister) course at the University of Surrey and is credited on several top-10 releases including a UK Number 1 album. He has a proven track record of working with emerging independent artists to help them obtain their first radio plays.
Tim Yates
Elizabeth J Birch
Elizabeth J. Birch is an undefined glitch, known for blurring the boundaries and striving for innovative ways to envision and make music. An award-winning musician, she combines synthesisers, haunting vocals, and ordinary everyday objects to challenge what music is, how it’s made and who musicians are.
Elizabeth was featured as one of the Mastercard Music Trailblazers ahead of the 2024 BRIT awards, recognised as an artist driving positive change in the music industry across technology, diversity & inclusion, helping make music more inclusive for all.
A producer, composer, vocalist, and tech-enthusiast, her second EP ‘Kenopsia’ released in 2023 explored challenging subjects such as loss and grief, and received radio support from BBC Introducing, Unmade Radio and Black Country Radio. She won the ‘Inspirational Music Leader’ award from Youth Music in 2023 for her inclusive community music and facilitation workshops, focused around songwriting, technology and youth voice.
Andre Louis
Adi Dickens
Haim Kairy