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Project Xylo: Gamified, Collaborative MIDI Devices Redefining Everyday Music Creation

Project Xylo, created by designer Kevin Yang, has been recognized with the Golden A' Design Award in the Toys, Games and Hobby Products category for 2025. Developed as a student project at the Royal College of Art, London, Xylo is a groundbreaking series of portable MIDI devices that transform music composition into an engaging, social, and accessible experience for users of all skill levels. The project aims to lower the barriers to music creation by gamifying MIDI operations and introducing intuitive controls, making beat-making and collaboration both fun and effortless.

Available in three modular sizes-Sample, Pocket, and Midi-Xylo devices feature a nostalgic, semi-transparent shell inspired by classic game consoles, and utilize swappable cartridges for sharing custom sounds and compositions. The devices are designed to snap together, enabling instant synchronization and collaborative music-making, effectively turning any group of users into a digital band. The intuitive button and slider controls, along with built-in harmonic and tempo frameworks, ensure that anyone can create harmonious and rhythmic music, regardless of prior experience.

The development of Project Xylo involved extensive prototyping using FDM and SLA printing, with a focus on achieving the ideal balance between component visibility and tactile surface texture. The technical challenges of miniaturizing electronics and optimizing performance led to the adoption of a Raspberry Pi Zero platform, ensuring robust functionality within a compact form factor. User research and cohort surveys informed the device's design, emphasizing structured tempo and harmony to make music creation more approachable and collaborative. While production remains a challenge due to design complexity, Xylo's innovative approach has already made a significant impact, as recognized by its Golden A' Design Award win.

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