A sample detection device and app designed to connect bedroom and beginner DJs to the cultural origins of dance music and to each other through shared discovery.
This project addresses the cultural disconnection felt by a generation of bedroom and beginner DJs who entered dance music culture during COVID, learning in isolation, through screens, with no understanding of the music they were playing. FRANKO is a physical device and connected app that detects samples in real time, unlocks the history behind the music and connects bedroom DJs through shared cultural discovery.
From branding to UI design, I built a full brand identity and product experience that turns a fleeting encounter with a sample into a meaningful human connection.
This project was developed in response to Twix’s D&AD New Blood brief. The key insight is that individuals under 35 are familiar with Twix but don’t feel a genuine connection to the brand. My proposal, titled ‘Mix The Twix’ is a limited edition experiential campaign that reimagines the two-bar format as a DJ tool. Participants would unwrap, position and see if the Twix bars would make a full 360 degree spin twice in responsewith the frequency of the music. Competing through energy and movement to become the top Twix DJ is the aim, all of which could be shared directly from their phones.
Although this project did not win a D&AD award, it remains one of my favourite concepts that I had the opportunity to develop.
Project Toca is a Mixmag sponsored campaign designed to preserve the memories and stories embedded in dance music culture. Built around the insight that streaming has eroded the communal, in-person connection that record stores once had, the solution places interactive ‘Living Archive’ phone boxes inside independent London record stores, inviting people to find a record, step inside and leave a voice recording of their memory tied to that particular record.
The brand identity draws from Yellow Pages and 90s mobile nostalgia that feels authentically rooted in UK dance music heritage.
