During my MA at the University of the Arts London (UAL), we worked in collaboration with Bittersuite. Bittersuite. A small company that specialises in creating multi-sensory experiences inspired by music. Due to my rich musical background I was very excited to be exploring this creative field from the perspective of User Experience Design. To explore the world between music and design our team used a wide range of different research methods and experimented with spaces, objects and even our own bodies.
As a result, we created an immersive experience where 2 participants could freely explore their sonic comfort zone through different sounds translating in their headphones depending on their location on the grid in the pitch-black room. The project aimed to emphasise the importance of not only spatial boundaries but also sonic ones - unique set of sounds that an individual considers enjoyable, neutral or unpleasant
As a result, we created an immersive experience where 2 participants could freely explore their sonic comfort zone through different sounds translating in their headphones depending on their location on the grid in the pitch-black room. The project aimed to emphasise the importance of not only spatial boundaries but also sonic ones - unique set of sounds that an individual considers enjoyable, neutral or unpleasant
This is an overview of a two-month-long project.
A weekly breakdown of the process is available here.
A weekly breakdown of the process is available here.
Final outcome video. Voiceover by me, video and editing by Sebastian Ervi.
Research
Like any other design project, we began with researching. To choose a space we wanted to focus on we analysed a range of options from historical sound mirrors to tunnels and washing machines to see how different properties of an object affect what we hear.
Experimenting
As true creatives, we each had our own ideas and directions we wanted to take. We explored them together experimenting with spatial awareness, storytelling through sound, acoustics and much more using various techniques and methods.
Personal Space
From all of our ideas, we decided to focus on the body as a space. More specifically, the invisible yet always present boundaries of comfort one builds around themself everywhere they go. We wanted to explore what this space is, what are those boundaries and how they can be defined, represented and changed sonically.
Sound Boundaries
To test our ideas we created a mid-fidelity prototype that allowed people to explore their personal sonic space in a new way. With some adjustments, this concept was later improved and developed into our final outcome.
SoundSpace
Our outcome was an immersive experience where 2 participants could freely explore their sonic comfort zone through different sounds translating in their headphones depending on their location on the grid in the pitch-black room.
