ADC Awards
ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world, with an incredible legacy of over 100 years. These awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, experiential and spatial design, photography, illustration and fashion design – all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.
Background
OPERATOR started as an idea to rethink music production for extended reality. The app had to include interactions and design native for spatial applications and avoid reproducing design patterns from flat screens. It had to also be intuitive and accessible to people with any level of experience in music creation.
The project was created by a small multidisciplinary team based in the UK and Europe that included in-house and freelance talent: developers, artists, designers, musicians, and animators. With the core team coming from the design and art backgrounds, OPERATOR was planned to become an audiovisual experience, in which the visual execution was as important as the musical foundation of the app.
The project was created by a small multidisciplinary team based in the UK and Europe that included in-house and freelance talent: developers, artists, designers, musicians, and animators. With the core team coming from the design and art backgrounds, OPERATOR was planned to become an audiovisual experience, in which the visual execution was as important as the musical foundation of the app.
Creative Idea
A modular system lies at the core of OPERATOR. Inspiration for it comes from timeless designs and architecture that chose modularity as their design language.
Particularly influential for the design of the app was the Lectron system, manufactured and developed by Braun in the 1960s. Versatile and intuitive, it gave freedom to experiment and enabled learning by practice, and this approach became defining for OPERATOR.
The sculptural shapes of sound modules in the application were informed by architectural models that unite multiple shapes and colours in one structure, like a sound system that combines many instruments and tools.
Tactility of the experience was another key component for the creative idea. The user experience in the app is based on direct hand interactions with objects that look real and integrate into physical spaces seamlessly through the mixed reality mode.
Particularly influential for the design of the app was the Lectron system, manufactured and developed by Braun in the 1960s. Versatile and intuitive, it gave freedom to experiment and enabled learning by practice, and this approach became defining for OPERATOR.
The sculptural shapes of sound modules in the application were informed by architectural models that unite multiple shapes and colours in one structure, like a sound system that combines many instruments and tools.
Tactility of the experience was another key component for the creative idea. The user experience in the app is based on direct hand interactions with objects that look real and integrate into physical spaces seamlessly through the mixed reality mode.
Insights & Strategy
Apple Vision Pro was selected as a target platform early on because of the ability to interact with content with your hands and do it with precision, which was necessary for the application. High definition of the content on the platform has also been important for integrating graphic elements that navigate the user through the experience.
While alternative solutions for music production on the platform include intricate sound synthesis engines and numerous controls, OPERATOR opts for a more playful and minimalist approach based on music samples and turns the process of music production into an entertaining experiment. This choice was made to focus on the research of organic design language for XR that takes into account the unique features of the medium and deliberately includes all of the app components: interactions, interfaces, forms, graphic design, and sound.
While alternative solutions for music production on the platform include intricate sound synthesis engines and numerous controls, OPERATOR opts for a more playful and minimalist approach based on music samples and turns the process of music production into an entertaining experiment. This choice was made to focus on the research of organic design language for XR that takes into account the unique features of the medium and deliberately includes all of the app components: interactions, interfaces, forms, graphic design, and sound.
Execution
OPERATOR uses a set of cubes that act as samples — drums, synths, bass, and effects — and two simple tools, voice recorder and frequency filter. These blocks are stored in an inventory that acts as a portal — the ‘box’ with the blocks is visible only from the front side.
Put together on a sequencer that can be extended in any direction — like in a game of ‘Snake’ — the blocks form an electronic music composition. The idea for the ‘Snake’-like sequencer came early in the design research, and it turned out to be one of the most important ideas for the app experience, as the foundation for the sound sculpture is simply drawn in the air with a hand.
Other gestures in the app became a continuation of the same approach of making the interactions as natural as possible. Users interact with the system by pressing, pulling, and grabbing the elements, and separate tutorial chapter of the app with handcrafted animations is dedicated to teaching these interactions.
The graphic design and branding of the app supports its minimalist style. After testing dozens of prototypes for the block design with buttons, grids, and scales, a clean design with flat elements was chosen for the interactive modules.
Put together on a sequencer that can be extended in any direction — like in a game of ‘Snake’ — the blocks form an electronic music composition. The idea for the ‘Snake’-like sequencer came early in the design research, and it turned out to be one of the most important ideas for the app experience, as the foundation for the sound sculpture is simply drawn in the air with a hand.
Other gestures in the app became a continuation of the same approach of making the interactions as natural as possible. Users interact with the system by pressing, pulling, and grabbing the elements, and separate tutorial chapter of the app with handcrafted animations is dedicated to teaching these interactions.
The graphic design and branding of the app supports its minimalist style. After testing dozens of prototypes for the block design with buttons, grids, and scales, a clean design with flat elements was chosen for the interactive modules.
Results
OPERATOR was the first project released by the studio, and it received a lot of attention from the design and tech professionals on social media. With more than 400,000 views on social platforms in total, the project was featured by prominent technological influencers and opinion leaders, including president of Y Combinator Garry Tan and Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz. The UX approach of the app generated a lot of opinions and attention, and it was warmly received in the professional community.
2026 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit Honor
Credits
Design Firm
FUN AND AWE / London
Animator
Ivan Popov
Art Director
Vladimir Zhirnov
Group Creative Director
Maxim Zhestkov
Graphic Designer
Anastasia Suryaninova
Producer
Anna Gulyaeva
Programmer
Hankun Yu
Kamen Dimitrov
Theodore Cruickshank
Sound Designer
Artyom Markaryan
Assistant
Irina Kulinich
Musician
David Guriev
Voice Actor
Constantine Gregory
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