BOOM

A concert is more than the sound reaching your ears. Bass moves through the floor and into the body; rhythm becomes a physical part of being there. During the shift to streamed performances in 2020, that dimension of listening became especially noticeable.

BOOM began with a question: could a small wearable restore some of that physical intensity at home? The concept translates the low-frequency energy of music into synchronized vibration beneath the feet, adding a tactile layer to headphones or an existing audio setup.

The feet offered a particular opportunity. They are already part of how we experience a venue, through its floor, without requiring another screen or something held in the hands.

I attended an online concert, contacted a concert-production startup, and investigated how bass and vibration contribute to the experience of music. This exploratory research shaped a direction centered on the body, rather than on making another speaker.

Sketches explored how the insole, haptic components, and charging arrangement could become one coherent system. Music equipment and expressive, visibly technical products informed the moodboard: the object could reveal something of how it works.

The resulting proposal was a pair of insoles and a dedicated dock. Audio analysis would drive embedded haptic motors, allowing the rhythm to be felt through contact with the feet.

I built a simple functional proof of concept with 3D-printed parts, an Arduino, an audio input, and haptic motors. It let me investigate the relationship between an incoming signal and a physical response, while learning about the space the components would need.

That bench prototype is the working evidence behind BOOM. The finished insoles and magnetic dock shown in the product visualizations were the design proposal; they were not a manufactured or field-tested product.

The dock gives the system a place in the room. The insoles stand upright on opposite sides of a central support, turning a wearable into a visible object between listening sessions.

The original concept combines magnetic docking and charging with pairing, a small control, and a white light at the base. The aim was a simple sequence: take the insoles from the dock, listen, and return them when finished.

This updated listening-room visualization places that exact design beside an ordinary audio setup. It changes the presentation, while retaining the original insole geometry, upright dock, and black-and-white material language.

BOOM brought together music, electronics, and industrial design. It made a question about an experience concrete enough to sketch, package, and prototype.

That interest in embodied interaction continued into Opus, my final-year industrial design thesis and now an ongoing research project at OpusLABS. The connection is a continuing curiosity about what technology can communicate through the body.