Pick up and play

Pick up and play

Pick up and play

Pick up and play

Magic Instruments

There are no shortcuts in learning to play a traditional guitar, and budding musicians may need as many as 2000 hours to master the instrument. The founders at Magic Instruments wanted to change this with the MI Guitar, a new kind of instrument that lets anyone be musically expressive and play their favorite songs in minutes without musical training. Magic Instruments partnered with us to design a sleek and modern spin on a classic guitar silhouette that speaks to everyone’s inner rock star.

The MI Guitar incorporates complex software with musical intelligence to simplify the playing process with an easy-to-use button-based fretboard. Our challenge was to take this new guitar-playing interface and create a design that echoes the experience and feeling of playing a traditional guitar, while still communicating the digital soul of the device. We maintained the classic shape of a guitar, but gave it a fresh look that emphasizes the details unique to the MI Guitar.

The strings on the instrument don’t need to be tuned, so the MI Guitar doesn’t have a traditional bridge or tuning pegs. We highlighted this by making the bridge almost invisible, creating the illusion that the strings disappear into the guitar body. The neck of the guitar continues into the bridge, creating a single connection point for strumming and changing chords. The aluminum knobs give the MI Guitar a premium look similar to a piece of modern technology rather than a classic musical instrument.

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Strategy
Industrial Design

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