Oursky partnered with MusicMap to connect music connoisseurs to enthusiasts and foster a culture of inspiration through music.
The Need: An online platform for music teachers and students to awaken their passion for music
Music makes people come together, regardless of your background. That’s what Hallace Yiu had in mind when he came up with MusicMap. Hallace, who teaches guitar playing, found it challenging to sign students up. In Hong Kong, most music teachers reach out to students through music centers. These venues, however, drive a hard bargain: They usually charge 50% or more of the tuition fees as commissions.
While there were already platforms that tried to match instructors to students, they didn’t provide room for teachers to fully express their artistry and philosophy in music and teach it to their would-be students. To help his fellow music teachers, he envisaged an online platform that helps connect music connoisseurs and enthusiasts so they can share their passion for music.
Oursky’s Strategy: Create a web application with intuitive user experience
Hallace partnered with Oursky to bring his ideas into fruition. As an artist, Hallace spoke through ideas. He envisioned MusicMap as an auditorium for learners and maestros alike to come together and find joy in creating, playing, and listening to music.
Oursky visualized these ideas into iconography and code. Oursky’s project manager and developers brainstormed with Hallace into creating a mockup of a web app that includes not only the matching and piano tuning services, but also a feed of interesting music-related events across Hong Kong that MusicMap’s subscribers can attend, like workshops, concerts, and even contests, to name a few.
After the mockups were finalized, Oursky’s project manager implemented and broke down tasks to man-day units and organized them into bi-weekly sprints. Hallace was always involved in the process, ensuring that he understands what’s going on despite not having a technical background.
The Result: An online venue for everyone to find joy in learning and making music
MusicMap has since become the go-to online educational platform for music teachers across Hong Kong to advertise their tutorial services. For students, MusicMap boasts having teachers whose expertise span more than 20 musical instruments and music theories.
I am impressed with Oursky’s attention to detail — from the website’s flow down to subtleties of the icons. The team was very proactive in involving me throughout the whole journey. And despite my lack of technical background, I saw that Oursky was able to balance that fine line between user experience and design — just like how we make music.