Short n’Sweet
Experiential Design, Immersive & Interactive Spatial Design, Live Entertainment, Visual Design
Designing an audience fan journey with experiential touch points to maximize artist impact and personalization while acting as a framework for future music-centric venues through a case study on Sabrina Carpenter.
TOOLS: Adobe CC, Unity, Arduino
TIMELINE: 2 weeks, Fall 2024
TEAM: Brandt Youran Li, Silvia Shin
Designing an audience fan journey with experiential touchpoints to maximize artist impact and personalization while acting as a framework for future music-centric venues.
OBJECTIVE
CONCEPT
Creating a multi-dimensional experience for the Short n’ Sweet Tour, fostering anticipation and lasting engagement through personalized interactions, exclusive content, and digital integration.
For our case study, we focused on Sabrina Carpenter’s upcoming Short n’ Sweet Tour, developing a framework that aligns with her strong artistic identity and unique brand. Our goal was to design a journey that feels personal, memorable, and deeply impactful for fans that enhances the concert experience for both in-venue attendees and at-home fans. Inspired by Manchester’s Co-op Live, where venues transform post-show into exclusive spaces, our project explores how to create fully customizable, multi-dimensional experiences that deepen fan engagement.
AUDIENCE JOURNEY
The Ultimate Concert Experience
The Ultimate Sabrina Carpenter Concert Experience is a four-part journey that immerses fans in her music like never before. It begins with the pre-pre show at a themed pop-up café, where interactive games spark excitement and connection. In the pre-show, fans contribute to Anonymous Confessions, sharing unfiltered stories inspired by emails i can't send, creating a powerful tapestry of emotions. During the concert, the audience becomes part of the performance with Candle Light Attachments, heart-shaped lights syncing to the music in a mesmerizing display. The post-show extends the magic with a Behind-the-Scenes Fan Package, featuring a signed keepsake, exclusive photos, and a personal thank-you from Sabrina.
CONCERT FRAMEWORK
Live Journey Overview
Sabrina Carpenter Live redefines the concert experience with a dynamic framework that blends personalized user journeys and creative technologies, seamlessly integrating digital and physical ecosystems to deepen audience engagement.
The journey begins in the pre-marketing phase, where early word-of-mouth campaigns spark excitement, turning fans into active promoters. As the event nears, the activation phase introduces a location-based leaderboard game, rewarding fan participation and building momentum. Engagement escalates with interactive checkpoints and fan packages, driving deeper involvement and exclusivity. Once inside the venue, the in-venue phase delivers a fully immersive experience with location-based activations and finally, the post-show phase extends the connection beyond the night, offering exclusive fan-artist interactions.
Carpenter’s Cafe
GAMIFIED EXPERIENCE
To build anticipation and engagement ahead of each concert, a location-based mobile game launches one month before the event in the host city, closing one week prior. Inspired by Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso music video, the game transports fans to a virtual beachside café, where they step into the role of a barista at Sabrina’s drive-thru. Players craft espresso drinks inspired by her music, earning coins for each order completed.
A real-time leaderboard fuels social integration and regional excitement, with top players vying for concert tickets and exclusive fan packages. Attendees also have the chance to upgrade to VIP experiences, making the game a gateway to real-world rewards. By blending gamified engagement with digital connection, this interactive pre-show activation transforms anticipation into an immersive, fan-driven journey.
Carpenter’s Confessions
VENUE INTERACTION
To build anticipation and engagement ahead of each concert, a location-based mobile game launches one month before the event in the host city, closing one week prior. Inspired by Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso music video, the game transports fans to a virtual beachside café, where they step into the role of a barista at Sabrina’s drive-thru. Players craft espresso drinks inspired by her music, earning coins for each order completed.
A real-time leaderboard fuels social integration and regional excitement, with top players vying for concert tickets and exclusive fan packages. Attendees also have the chance to upgrade to VIP experiences, making the game a gateway to real-world rewards. By blending gamified engagement with digital connection, this interactive pre-show activation transforms anticipation into an immersive, fan-driven journey.
Carpenter’s Candle
CONCERT TAKEAWAY
Carpenter’s Candle is a modular, interactive light-up accessory that transforms audience participation by integrating fans into the concert’s visual spectacle. Designed with Sabrina Carpenter’s signature heart-shaped branding, the accessory features a detachable illuminated base that activates when connected. Its versatile design allows fans to personalize their experience, wearing it as a bracelet, hair tie, chair attachment, or in other creative ways. This customizable element not only enhances the immersive atmosphere but also turns every fan into a glowing part of the performance.
Inside the concert venue, Carpenter’s Candle synchronizes seamlessly with the performance, animating in real-time to the rhythm of the music. The venue can also remotely control the lights, creating large-scale visual effects, messages, and symbols that ripple across the crowd. This immersive light choreography transforms the audience into a living, breathing part of the show, deepening the emotional connection and elevating the concert experience.
CONCEPT APPLICABILITY + TECH BREAKDOWN
With its interchangeable top and base design, Carpenter’s Candle enables venues to transform into artist-branded light shows, allowing fans to swap tops featuring iconic artist symbols. This modular system makes each concert a personalized, evolving visual experience, with synchronized light effects that adapt to the performance while reinforcing the artist’s unique identity.
The prototype utilizes a magnetic connection system, where the top contains a magnet and the base houses an ESP32 Feather microcontroller. When connected, the NeoPixel LED Ring activates, allowing for real-time light synchronization with the concert. This modular design ensures fans can repurpose Carpenter’s Candle beyond the show, transforming it into a lasting keepsake that extends the experience long after the final encore.
Carpenter’s Cup
PERSONALIZED EXTENSION
Carpenter’s Cup is an exclusive tea party experience that extends the fan journey beyond the concert, offering an intimate and whimsical space for fans to connect.
As a VIP experience, Carpenter’s Cup is a reward for the top winners of Carpenter’s Café, celebrating the most engaged fans with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the tour. Guests also receive exclusive merchandise and collectibles, commemorating the era and making this event more than just a gathering—it’s a cherished extension of the concert experience.