NDA Project
Year
2023
Software
Cloud App / Digital Audio Workstation
Responsibilities
Product Design
Branding
UI/UX Design
Prototyping
Role
I led product design and positioning, identifying the market opportunity and shaping the product vision. Beyond designing interfaces, I built the design system, interaction models, and prototypes that demonstrated how AI-native, cloud-based workflows could transform music production. My focus was on creating a product that could scale both as a music production tool and a distribution marketplace.
Problem
Traditional DAWs like Ableton and Logic remain powerful but are locked in a desktop-bound, linear model that makes them intimidating for beginners and restrictive for professionals who want to collaborate and publish quickly. While visual creators have rapidly embraced generative AI, music tools have lagged behind, leaving few intuitive options for AI-assisted music creation and distribution.
Solution
Merlin Studio reframes the DAW as both a creative tool and a publishing platform. It combines real-time AI features like chord suggestions, solo generation, and mastering guidance with multiplayer collaboration and instant release to a built-in marketplace. By merging creation and distribution, the product lowers barriers for new musicians while accelerating workflows for experienced producers.
Market Gap
Traditional DAWs like Ableton and Logic remain powerful but intimidating, built for experts and limited by desktop-bound, linear workflows. Meanwhile, visual creators have rapidly adopted generative AI, but music production tools have lagged behind, leaving few accessible options for intuitive, AI-assisted creativity. Merlin Studio was designed to fill that gap a cloud-native DAW that combines real-time AI assistance with a built-in publishing marketplace. By streamlining composition, mixing, and mastering while enabling instant release to a global platform, it reframes music production as both creation and distribution. My role was to position the product, define the end-to-end user experience, and design a system that could open music creation to new artists while accelerating workflows for professionals.
Outcome
The concept has been recognised in the music-tech community as a forward-looking approach to production. It demonstrates my ability to design at a system level, aligning user needs, emerging technology, and market opportunity into a cohesive product strategy.
