Bob Dylan Center – Immersive Audio Experience

The design challenge focused on crafting an immersive audio experience that tells Dylan's story while addressing various complexities. With 60 years of diverse content, our task was to present material cohesively without overwhelming visitors. We needed to consider headphone usage, facilitating personal and shared experiences without compromising sound quality or visitor interaction. Our solution involved seamlessly integrating our LiveSync technology within an intuitive app. This approach allowed visitors to navigate the exhibition, interact with key exhibits, and curate their experience with ease. By tackling these challenges, we successfully delivered an immersive journey into the musical legacy of Bob Dylan.

Our design solution combines cutting-edge tech, immersive storytelling and interactive features to create a personalised experience for visitors. On arrival, guests receive an in-house handheld device that, when tapped on glowing symbols near key exhibits, delivers top-notch, custom-mastered audio through headphones. By enhancing our core app with functions like audio playback, positioning, proximity detection, and an experience engine, we've removed the need for users to navigate complex systems. Artifacts come to life, and the perfectly synchronised audio ensures an immersive journey. Visitors simply tap on what interests them, enjoying a tailored and engaging experience.

Seamlessly integrated and thoughtfully designed, the Bob Dylan Center's immersive audio experience places sound at the heart of the visitor's journey. Understanding that you can't design a music museum without prioritising sound, this innovative approach highlights Dylan's musical legacy and lets visitors forge personal connections. As Steve Higgins, managing director of the American Song Archives, says, "We hear all the time from visitors how well the synchronisation works and how much it enriches the overall experience." This audio-centric design sets a new benchmark for future music museums, emphasising the importance of sound in celebrating our cultural icons.

The audio experience at the center is eyes-up and intuitive. With a tap of the device, artifacts come alive and tell their own stories, like the notebook in which Dylan scratched out the lyrics to some of the songs from “Blood on the Tracks.” Dylan himself speaks directly into visitors’ ears, like a brilliant friend sharing his creative thoughts. To ensure the audio across the exhibition never overlaps or falls out of sync, the system delivers sound to headphones with no more than 50 milliseconds of latency. The result is perfect synchronicity—visitors hear the audio they want at exactly the right moment. We also matched the in-house devices with other Bluetooth beacon touchpoints so that when people move between experiences or floors, the device fades out the audio and provides the right guidance on what to do next. Listening booths allow quiet moments with little visual intervention for visitors who like to get hands-on. A digital jukebox featuring songs created, inspired, or curated by Dylan lets visitors listen to music together and customize personal playlists. In a mock sound studio, visitors play sound engineer; they mix their own music and sounds to simulate a live recording session.