User Interface Paradigms in DAWs

The thesis User Interface Paradigms in Digital Audio Workstations: examining and modernising established models (2014) is my Master’s final project for the degree of Master of Music in Music Technology at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki.

The thesis describes a project examining the status of established user interface paradigms in digital audio workstations. The description proceeds in two stages. Firstly, the interfaces of prominent digital audio workstations are examined, and the fundamental interface structure is abstracted from the observations. Secondly, a modernised user interface concept is proposed.

The main aim of the proposed user interface concept is to offer a modernised approach to mixing in digital audio workstations. The concept describes a block-based interface that prioritises flexibility and versatility, not forgetting simplicity. The fundamental, abstract interface structure is designed to be only loosely dependent on the characteristics of the input device and the display device, and the concept can therefore be used with a variety of distinct devices.

Abstract and the thesis are available at the eThesis service of the University of the Arts Helsinki.