ECHO
Website
A website redefining the music listening experience by utilizing Indian Sign Language (ISL) animations, making music more accessible and enjoyable for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
Discovery and Strategy
The deaf and hard-of-hearing community in India faces significant challenges in accessing and enjoying music. Traditional music experiences heavily rely on auditory cues, leaving a large segment of the population excluded from the rich world of sound. Designed with empathy and innovation, ECHO aims to make music accessible and inclusive, allowing users to engage visually with lyrics, rhythms, and emotions. At its core, ECHO is about reshaping cultural participation and ensuring no one is left out of the universal joy of music.
The platform addresses a clear gap, traditional music is auditory, leaving out a significant population. By using ISL animations synced with songs, ECHO bridges this divide. Its mission extends beyond accessibility: it builds community, encourages cultural appreciation, and doubles as an educational tool to promote ISL learning through engaging musical content.
ECHO’s user-centered design system emphasizes simplicity, visual clarity, and ease of navigation. High-contrast visuals, intuitive layouts, and expressive ISL animations create a seamless and welcoming experience. Key features like personalized profiles, genre-based content discovery, community forums, and ISL workshops make ECHO a dynamic, interactive space for learning and connection.
Recognized for its innovative design, ECHO was showcased at the Pearl Portfolio Exhibition in both 2022 and 2023. Its social impact: promoting inclusion, skill development, and awareness underscores how thoughtful design can empower marginalized communities and bring about meaningful cultural change.
Case Study
ECHO was more than a platform; it was a movement toward inclusive cultural expression through design. Curious about how it all came together, from insights to implementation? Dive into the full case study to explore the design process, key decisions, and the impact we set out to create.
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