Re-inventing the Jukebox
TouchTunes
In 1998, TouchTunes Interactive Networks, the world’s largest interactive entertainment platform, introduced the first pay-for-play digital jukebox. In 2010, they tapped frog to help reinvent the cultural icon with new interaction and product design. The result was the TouchTunes Virtuo, a digital music system that successfully captures the experience of vintage jukeboxes, yet has a modern interface that matches new consumer expectations of digital devices today.
“TouchTunes and frog teamed up to re-ignite the social spirit of vintage jukeboxes for a generation used to on demand digital content.”
Designing The Interaction
What to play? That's the question most people ask when they step up to a jukebox, and it can be overwhelming. Most people look to the machine for inspiration. The new TouchTunes has an intuitive touchscreen that lets users easily browse curated playlists and search TouchTunes' rich music catalog. For consumers who aren't sure what to play, the interface is designed to inspire them with engaging artist imagery and song recommendations.
Instead of frustrating the user with endless lists and alpha-numeric scrolling, the Virtuo has a fun, game-like interface that offers several new ways to browse and search music catalogs. The interface is anchored with an ergonomically comfortable virtual wheel at the bottom of the screen to give patrons easy access. frog also created “lensing” interaction structures so people can easily move through genre, artist, and songs to get to the music they love.
To play songs, patrons are prompted to hit the iconic TouchTunes play button, a signature interaction tying together the interface with the juke's physical presence.
The touchscreen is also one of the largest surface acoustic wave (SAW) touchscreens available, designed at 25” wide x 21” tall. This sensitive technology needed to be built for commercial use, requiring durability and a design that incorporated into a single display both touch-active areas and touch-inactive borders to facilitate a social, shared experience.
Built as a multi-application entertainment platform, the Virtuo transitions from a sophisticated music player to a digital photo booth and a karaoke machine, giving consumers even more ways to socially connect and have fun during their night out.
