Tigris Li, a London-based, Canadian creative technologist, artist and designer, has shared an intriguing new DJ controller design and the tactic that went into establishing it.
The DJ controller is small with a superb pink clear plastic casing. All of the vital factor choices are there – jog wheels, EQ knobs, procuring knobs and cargo buttons, amount faders, BPM administration, a filter, cue and play buttons – nonetheless, not as everyone knows them.
The celebs of the current are the jog wheels. Fairly than adopting the same old circle type as with most DJ gear, they’re shaped like twinkling stars with a silver finish. The groovy – in further strategies than one – type means that you may simply modify the place of a observe or backspin in a dramatic type.
Throughout the centre of the unit, there’s a basic LED show display that exhibits retro bitmap symbols akin to hearts and aliens akin to early gaming models. The visuals are activated each time you contact a knob, spin a jog wheel or modify the faders.
The funky DJ controller can be apt for portability. It comes with a harness, custom-designed by Isabella Smith. This straps spherical your physique, leaving the controller to sit down on the doorway, so you may also make basically essentially the most spectacular entrance of all to your DJ set inside the membership.
The controller was made using Arduino’s UNO R4 Minima, “the first UNO board that features a 32-bit microcontroller, the RA4M1 from Renesas”, says the mannequin. In an explainer video posted to Instagram, Li moreover shouts out North London laser chopping for turning her designs into [hyscial components.
In the video, Li takes viewers through the build process. She began by gathering measurements for the buttons and switches to create laser-cut design files. She incorporated drum pad buttons, soldered wires for EQ faders’ potentiometers and rotary encoders for jogwheels. Li also handled slider soldering for volume faders and BPM control, adding an LED matrix for visual effects during mixing.
Assembling the frame, Li went on to design unique cue and play buttons, she says, and 3D printed them with a resin filter. With their partner’s assistance, she airbrushed these to achieve a metallic finish. Lastly, Li coded all functions, mapping MIDI data from their Pioneer DJ controller onto their customised setup and creating bitmap designs for the LED matrix.
Tigris, originally from Montréal, Canada, educates millions on Instagram and TikTok, inspiring future electronic engineers and experienced designers. Recently, Tigris published a limited edition book for her Data Romantics exhibition, delving into modern dating’s digital impact. Co-founding Lychee, Inc. in 2022, she pioneers social technology hardware to capture memories, emotions, and cultural moments.
See more of Tigris Li’s work via tigris.li.
