On the Design of OLO Radio: Investigating Metadata as a Design Material

With the massive adoption of music streaming services globally, metadata is being generated that captures people’s music listening histories in more precise detail than ever before. These metadata archives offer a valuable and overlooked resource for designing new ways of supporting people in experiencing the music they have listened to over the course of their lives. Yet, little research has demonstrated how metadata can be applied as a material in design practice. We describe the design of OLO Radio, a device that leverages music listening history metadata to support experiences of exploring and living with music from one’s past. We unpack and reflect on design choices that made use of the exacting precision captured in listening history metadata archives to support relatively imprecise qualities of feedback and interaction to encourage rich, open-ended experiences of contemplation, curiosity, and enjoyment over time. We conclude with implications for HCI research and practice in this space.