UX Design & Prototyping
Project Decibel
Services
Venture Design
Service Design
Value Proposition Design
Lecture Presentation Design
Intake Form Design
Marketing Website Design
Branding
Deliverables
Service Design Blueprint
Business Model
Value Proposition
Process Map
Brand Assets & Logo
Marketing Site
Outcomes
85,000+ Ear Geometry Data Points
5,000+ Clients Supported
35+ Events and Festivals Attended
Free Educational Content
Countless Earplugs Provided
History
While I was at Indiana University, pursuing my doctorate, I had several of friends in the music program. I remember one night, after attending a loud show at a local venue, I asked if they had any education around hearing loss prevention in their music curriculum. I was shocked to learn they learned nothing about how to keep their most valuable instrument, their hearing, safe and healthy.
I remember thinking, “dermatologists promote using sun screen, why aren’t audiologists promoting earplugs?”. That was my rabbit hole moment. I went on to pursue a specialty in hearing loss prevention for music industry professionals and non-OSHA regulated populations.
Problem
Hearing loss prevention is inaccessible, inconvenient, and expensive.
Solution
Project Decibel, an inclusive and approachable hearing wellness initiative for music people.
Background
Hearing loss prevention services are 99% catered to individuals who work in construction, loud machinery, or aviation - all industries covered by OSHA. Hearing loss prevention for music industry professionals was not only inconvenient and not affordable, but also had a stigma to overcome - it was “uncool” to wear earplugs.
Project Decibel started as a guest lecture series for university level music programs. I lectured over 2500 students across the country and quickly realized I needed a more scale-able solution.
Phase 1
The PdB App
In early 2017 I partnered with Designation to embark on an end to end research and design effort to create a holistic hearing wellness app. The Project Decibel App would offer: hearing tests, educational resources, access to digital ear mold file and marketplace.
Hearing Wellness Screening
Hearing Tests and Hearing Wellness Resources
Sound Level Measurements and Warnings
Our users were positive about the app during concept testing and were excited about the ability to have hearing loss prevention resources in their pocket. However, as much as they thought the app was cool it was not something they wanted to pay for. For that reason, I decided to forgo the build.
Although the app tested really well with users conceptually, there wasn’t enough interest or motivation to pay for it.
A few months later, I was approached by a colleague, and member of the World Health Organization, about the designs they saw online. They were impressed and mentioned they had wanted to build a hearing wellness app themselves. A perfect opportunity to support a much larger platform and reach to donate our designs to support the world wide Healthy Listening Initiative by the WHO.
A Crossroads
In February 2018 I found myself at a cross-roads with the business. One one hand, I was thrilled to have found a home for our hearing wellness app. On the other hand, I had to figure out what was next for the business, and myself.
How might I provide expert audiology care in a way that aligns with my clients expectations and goals and sustain a business?
In order to continue to provide the care to this population in a way that feels authentic to my values, I decided to take my foot off the gas and get back to our roots - expert care and education that is approachable and affordable.
PdB Phase 2
Business Model
Enter Phase Two of Project Decibel. It was important to me to stay close to the mission as I redesigned what Project Decibel was and how it would show up for the music community. Sticking to our guiding principles - accessible, affordable, and convenient - I restructured the company to be a remote-first hearing wellness practice for music industry members with a “we come to you” model.
A concierge hearing wellness practice focused on approachable hearing conservation education, affordable services, and access to care at the places and spaces where music people are.
Value Proposition
As a concierge practice offering affordable services and access to custom products, we’ve been able to grow our customer base significantly through word of mouth. In late 2018 Project Decibel was chosen to participate in two accelerator programs that led to conversations with leading audio manufacturer, Bose Ventures around a future partnership to leverage the ear geometry database we’re building with our clients.
In an effort to improve the fit of all in-ear audio products we began collecting objective and subjective data around ear geometry, personal demographics and subjective reporting around headphone satisfaction. Our anonymous data can then be used by audio companies for R&D purposes around headphone fit and allows us to keep costs low for our customers.
This was a perfect opportunity to re-imagine our relationship with our clients and define a new business model that created even more value to our clients.
Using a human centered approach, I chose to focus on our users’ biggest pain points first. Bringing the clinic to where they are provided a convenient option to get their ears molded. Creating an online marketplace for custom ear products allowed users to buy products affordably and from anywhere, at home or on the road.
Business Model
What: Provide excellent patient care and get as many ears on file as possible
How: By hosting partner-sponsored festival fittings & concierge appointments
So that: Project Decibel can monetize manufacturer access to its ear database for research and development of better fitting and better sounding audio equipment, and create a community around hearing loss prevention to spread to the masses.
Brand
This was arguably the most challenging, and most rewarding, process of building a company. I realized it was time for PdB to have its own identity and personality- separate from my own. If we wanted to be a source of truth for our clients regarding their health, our brand needed to be both approachable and trustworthy.
We needed a brand to reflect who we are: an inclusive community of people who care about our hearing.
At Project Decibel we’re building a community, not a client roster. We don’t think anyone’s ears are more important than another’s’. Whether your famous, or the security guard keeping the venue safe - we’re here for the ears, and our brand and website reflect that.
Impact
Project Decibel has been to over 30 events and seen nearly 4000 individuals for hearing loss prevention care and education. We have built a community around hearing wellness in the music community that focuses on all music industry members, not just the artists. We continue our efforts as a concierge practice based in Denver, CO, traveling globally to clients and events around the world.
We have built an ear geometry database to provide over 82,500 data points including personal demographics and subjective reporting around earphone fit satisfaction and look forward to future partnerships to take listening to the pro audio level.
5,237
ears on file
36
events and festivals
85,896
ear geometry data points
8.3
lbs of earwax removed
Festivals & Events
Okeechobee (2018, FL)
Montana Folk Fest (2018,2019, MT)
Fsster Horses (2018, MI)
Lollapalooza (2018,2019, IL)
Northcoast Music Festival (2018, IL)
Austin City Limits (2018, TX)
Outside Lands (2018, CA)
Electric Forest (2018,2019, MI)
Summer Camp (2019, IL)
Vans Warped Tour (2019, OH)
Waterfront Blues Festival (2019, OR)
Hulaween (2019, FL)
Farmaid (2019, WI)
Bohemian Nights (2019, CO)
What I’ve Learned
Entrepreneurship is hard, some might even say its like swimming towards a hurricane. Thankfully, when the hurricane is something you are deeply passionate about, the journey can be an amazing opportunity for growth. Starting, pivoting, and growing Project Decibel to what is it today is one of my greatest teachers and greatest accomplishments. I’ve learned countless lessons, most notably:
Perseverance; how to push through ambiguity and fear
Leadership; how to make decisions with grounded confidence
Community; how to truly value and show appreciation for my clients, my partners, and my mentors
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about their ears and hearing, please don’t hesitate to reach out or visit our website - www.project-decibel.com