A classic tune may be something most of us can agree on but as much as we have in common, we all have different tastes and different ways of selecting our music.
I spent years building up an extensive music library and had a well-honed recommendation algorithm through Apple, to feed me exactly the tunes I like. I had always had an aversion to radio – partly the advertising, partly an avoidance of what was “popular”.
So, when I heard I was going to be part of the Fuzion Graphic Design team I only had one worry. This wasn’t to do with any aspect of the role, as I was over the moon with that, it was because I knew the Fuzion design department work was accompanied by the dubious melody of a radio.
I couldn’t imagine how anyone could have that racket on and get any work done, because in my book good music leads to great focus as every designer knows, so the opposite must also be true!
I needn’t have worried!!
Very shortly into my first week, I discovered the advantages of a carefully curated up-to-date playlist.
BBC 6 Music is the channel of choice, the chatter is smart, the music is excellent and the ads non-existent.
Within weeks my own library, which was stagnating around 1998, was refreshed with The Knife, Pigs (x7), Oh Sees, Mattiel, The Comet is Coming and the slightly “pretendy” but brilliantly loud Dublin band, Fontaines DC (Coley knows all the words!!).
All of this new music led to some greatly refreshed recommendations too.
It pays to have an open mind and to remember that a recommendation algorithm is only as good as the information you feed it. Read Hannah Fry’s excellent Hello World for more on that.
Sure, we still go on archaeological digs through Greg’s spare circa-2004 iPod from time to time, but when we strike gold there, it takes hours off the day. A good soundtrack allows us to focus on moving from job to job, designing everything from visual identities to web sites, from large social media campaigns to exhibition materials.
With a good soundtrack we can improve our productivity, better our mood and measure our day on the off-beat, to really #WinHappy.
..I get extra brownie points for typing that!!
Mark
