Using participatory visualisation of soundscapes to compare designers’ and listeners’ experiences of sound designs

McGregor, Iain; Turner, Phil; Benyon, David

Abstract

There are numerous rules and well-established guidelines to help designers with the visual appearance of interactive technologies. In contrast, when it comes to the use of sound, there is a paucity of practical information regarding design for euphony, excepting musical composition. This paper addresses this hiatus by describing a theoretically based, practical method for evaluating the design of the auditory components of interactive technologies and media. Specifically, the method involves eliciting the auditory experiences of users of these technologies and media and comparing them with what the sound designers had intended. The method has been comprehensively tested in trials involving 100 users (listeners), and the results have been described as “useful” and “invaluable” by a group of 10 professional sound designers.

Citation

McGregor, I., Turner, P., & Benyon, D. (2014). Using participatory visualisation of soundscapes to compare designers’ and listeners’ experiences of sound designs. Journal of Sonic Studies, 6(1),

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2014-01
• Deposit Date: Feb 27, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: May 16, 2017
• Journal: Journal of Sonic Studies
• Electronic ISSN: 2212-6252
• Publisher: Leiden University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 1
• Keywords: Interactive technology; sound designers; euphony; auditory experience
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/6598
• Publisher URL: http://journal.sonicstudies.org/vol06/nr01/a08